Evaluation of a VR system for Pain Management using binaural acoustic stimulation.

Abstract

[eng] The system proposed is oriented to evaluate the pain perceived by the user under a high controlled virtual reality environment (VR). AVR system is an implementation of a virtual world that the user perceivesasthe realone. The sensation of immersion affects the stimulus (visual,acousticandhaptic) perceived by the user and it is able to promote change in the brainwaves power and produce an activation of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). The Electro-Dermal Activity (EDA) allow measuring the electrical properties of the skin by the sweat activity. This work proposes a VR environment combined with binaural beats (binaural sounds) and visual stimulus to evaluate the perceptionthatthe user has and comparingtheir sensation with real physiological data. It is believed thatthe use of different binaural beatsin along period oftime can help patientstoinduce a relaxation state (mood) and consequently modulate the perception to pain. In this study we show two experiments. The first one applies 8 types of acoustic stimulus (4 binaural and 4 monaural) in a standard simple VR scenario and we propose the end users to select the experimented feelingthey felt in any case, in parallel using the Empatica wristband we contrast the subjective users answers with physiological values given by the device. In the second experiment, an immersive environment based on the whole VR application is proposed for control and real users to evaluate chronic pain. The users are immersed in three VR equal scenarios butwith random sound stimulation.Withthe results obtained, we can conclude that binaural beats work better than non-binaural beats if we talk about relaxation and meditation.