Quebec Hospital Using Virtual Reality to Address Increasing Mental Health Issues from the Pandemic

In a newswire release today, the Fondation de l’Hôtel-Dieu d’Alma (the Alma Hospital Foundation) announced the launch of a virtual reality (VR) project aimed at improving the mental health of those experiencing increasing anxiety. The Alma Hospital is a regional health centre for the area of Lac St. Jean and the Saguenay River valley to the north of Quebec City.

Jean Lamoureux, the hospital’s Executive Director states, “The number of requests for mental-health consultations is estimated to have increased by 30 to 40 percent during the pandemic. These needs are urgent…and, thanks to the innovation of Paperplane Therapeutics and TELUS, we will transform the way health services are delivered, while having a significant positive impact on patient well-being through technology.”

Telus is one of Canada’s big three in telecommunications. The company has taken on an active role to address mental health in its workplace and to help its customers and Canadians in general.

Paperplane Therapeutics is a designer of therapeutic virtual reality video games. These games are designed to help patients with the pain and anxiety that often accompanies illness, surgical procedures and treatment.

Previous to the Alma Hospital announcement, Paperplane had successfully demonstrated its technology with CHU Sainte Justine and the Shriners Hospital for Children in Montreal. The success of the company’s program called DREAM proved that virtual reality can change a patient’s perception of pain. Dr. Bryan Tompkins, a Shriners Hospital pediatric orthopedic surgeon described the positive impact on children undergoing medical procedures noting that the use of VR helped them to “enter a calm, imaginary world.”

We know that children take to technology readily. VR is no exception. But what about adults? That’s the focus of Alma Hospital’s new program which is integrating immersive VR across many of its departments and practices. The addition of VR is seen as an effective tool for cognitive behavioural therapists who can now use it with adult patients as well as children to help them learn to deal with anxiety.

States Dr. Jean-Simon Fortin, CEO of Paperplane, “The virtual reality therapy that we offer places the patient in a calm and soothing world where they’re prompted to engage in deep breathing exercises, guided by a sensor that we’ve added to the virtual reality headset. This system combines two effective non-pharmaceutical approaches to reduce pain and anxiety, increase patient satisfaction, and make health care professionals’ work a bit easier.”

Dr. Luc Cossette, Head of Psychiatry at Alma is optimistic that the use of VR will lessen the need to prescribe drugs for pain and anxiety. In the hospital, Paperplane’s VR will be combined with a new device aimed at treating severe depression using magnetic stimulation. The hope is to deploy Paperplane hospital-wide for treating social phobias, and specifically in oncology to help with pain management during chemo and radiation therapy.

What is the role of Telus in the Alma Hospital Project? The telecommunications company will implement 5G throughout the hospital for optimal feeds and speeds for the VR technology from Paperplane which the company describes as purpose-built and clinically validated VR for cognitive behaviour therapy, useful as a standalone method of treatment or in combination with medications in clinical settings.