Many of us have heard of virtual reality (VR) in the context of video games, but we may not have heard of its use in the healthcare field. This year, Janssen’s VR platform designed to help nurses administering a multiple myeloma drug was named the Most Valuable HCP Initiative at eyeforpharma’s annual awards ceremony in Barcelona, Spain.
The initiative came about during Janssen’s UK early access program for a new multiple myeloma drug – the company found a need for detailed training and guidance for nurses in the management of the first infusion of the drug. It was found that an immersive experience with realistic clinical applicability and the need to build nurse confidence in the administration and management of infusion-related reactions were lacking, and that such a creation would greatly help the nurses responsible for administering the drug.
Therefore, a team got together and created a VR experience to train National Health Service (NHS) nurses on the medicine, “with the sole aim of delivering confidence around the first infusion and so creating positive patient experiences.” The HTC Vive VR kit allowed nurse participants to explore a virtual chemotherapy clinic and interact with various elements, including the patient. Results from the experience were very positive, with 100% of users believing the experience would help in their day-to-day clinical practice and that they would recommend it to a colleague.
Upon receiving the award, the team behind the VR platform said, “Winning this award is an accumulation of a lot of different emotions. It has been a rollercoaster journey. We started with the idea to solve something, then thought: ‘How do we put these insights into practice and what’s the best modality to do it?’ We then had to deal with internal challenges; working out how to get regulatory approval for a virtual environment and how to find the right supplier. The award is a nice point of recognition of getting to the end point.”
They continued, noting that, “For us the real benefit was that patient treatment was not delayed, because the training took place before the product was launched. You build the nurses confidence — before they would delay the infusion for another week or so to get training sorted. Multiple myeloma patients have months to live so you can’t afford to delay their treatment.”
This is not the first time Janssen has experimented with the use of VR for helping those in the health care field. In 2017, Janssen discussed its “SchizoLab,” which uses VR technology to help individuals better understand what it is like to live with schizophrenia. This technology allows participants to experience “the other” and enhances the patient-doctor relationship, as well as personal relationships.