Magnus Vågen Birkenes (right), partner in Doublethink AS and Kjetil Ravnås (left), Partner & Chief Technology Officer in Doublethink AS, brought their VR-technology to the lunch seminar, so the participants could try it.

Norway Pumps & Pipes: VR can help elderly patients

28.03.2017

Virtual Reality (VR) in treatment of elderly patients with chronic illnesses was the topic at the second of three Norway Pumps & Pipes lunch seminars this spring.

- We want to make a change - and a simpler and better life for the patients. In this project we explore the possibilities for using VR-technology in patient situations. The end goal is to establish an alternative and better treatment for elderly patients, said Magnus Vågen Birkenes, partner in Doublethink AS, during the seminar.

Norway Pumps & Pipes brings professionals from the oil industry and health sector together. The aim of the seminars is to share results and knowledge.
This seminar was about VR - a visualization and control technology which has become more and more widespread in the recent years, and is now well established in several industries.

New possibilities for the treatment
Doublethink AS and SESAM at Stavanger university hospital work together in this project. They want to perform a feasibility study where the patient’s senses are stimulated through VR. It creates a new dimension of treatment and understanding for the patients, their relatives and the health workers.

– Imagine a person that is bound to their bed most of the time. Suddenly they can go paragliding through Lysefjorden, attend the family dinner they never could go to before - or do memory exercises in their own home or at their local store. We can customize the treatment to each patient, Vågen Birkenes continued.

Sensory stimulation is a new way to treat these patients. This spring the project will test VR on elderly patients - before they narrow it down to people with dementia.

– We need to be open to alternative treatment, and use of technology is up and coming. Therefore, we want to be at the forefront of the development of this, to ensure the need and perspective of the end-user, as this collaborative project is an example of, said Ingelin Testad, manager of SESAM.

Ingelin Testad, manager of SESAM.

Attend the next seminar!
Ove 25 participants followed the presentation at IRIS this Friday.
Norway Pumps & Pipes invites you to join the next seminar, “Demobilization of liquids in a chamber included in medical suction units for clearing the respiratory system”, that will be held Friday April 21th at IRIS in Stavanger.
For more information about the seminars and information about how to register, visit Norway Pumps & Pipes Seminars.

Text: Mirjam H. P. Klingenberg

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