NEW VR TECH EASES PHANTOM LIMB PAIN

London: Scientists have developed a new virtual reality (VR) technology that can relieve the sensation of phantom limb pain by tricking the brain into thinking that it is still in control of a missing limb. If a hand, an arm or a leg is amputated due to accident or disease, eight out of ten amputees experience a feeling of discomfort in the limb that is no longer there. The phenomenon is called phantom limb pain. “The tactile representation of different body parts are arranged in the brain in a sort of map,” said Bo Geng, from the Aalborg University in Denmark. “If the brain no longer receives feedback from an area, it tries to reprogramme its signal reception map. That is the most common conception of how phantom limb pain occurs,” Geng said. Tests have shown that phantom limb pain can be relieved if the brain is tricked into thinking that the amputated limb is still attached to the body. By placing a mirror at an angle in front of the chest you can create the visual illusion that the body is symmetrical. If you then pretend to do the same movements simultaneously with both hands, the brain in many cases can be convinced that it is in contact with an amputated hand. The method has proven effective in a number of amputees and is the foundation for the new VR technology. By using VR, it is possible to create an experience of being present in a three dimensional world where you can move around freely, researchers said.—