HP Innovation Journal Issue 10: Fall 2018 | Page 38

CASE STUDY: HP’S HEALTH CARE IMPACT //
IMMERSIVE ENVIRONMENTS BRING
RELIEF TO YOUNG CANCER PATIENTS
FRANCES A. AYALASOMAYAJULA
Population Health Worldwide Lead, HP
For many cancer patients, the realities of treatment can
add a significant burden to the challenges already presented
by disease. An emotional toll of fear and anxiety is often
induced by lengthy chemotherapy regimens, the isolation
required by compromised immune systems, extended time in
hospital and clinic environments and the uncertainties of the
journey in general.
Enter the discipline of “distractive therapy”—and the role
VR and other new technologies can play in it. Reimagine Well,
founded and advised by innovators from Disney and Fox
Searchlight Pictures as well as leading medical concerns, uses
emerging technologies and multimedia content to transport
patients away from blinking monitors and IV bags into new
environments in an imagined universe.
A SPECIAL HEALING PLACE
If you could get your health care
treatment anywhere in the universe,
without rules, what place would
best promote your healing?
A Brazilian rainforest or an African jungle? Alaskan mountains
or Australian oceans? Kayaking on the Colorado River rapids
or a peace pagoda in ancient China? Or maybe aboard a NASA
spacecraft on a mission to Mars?
Reimagine Well poses the “Where in the universe?” question
and then transports patients to imagined settings during
stressful treatments.
Innovation Journal Issue Ten
Reimagine Well creative director and cofounder Roger
Holzberg developed extensive immersive computing
experiences by designing magical theme parks and alternate
reality video games. In his motion picture career, he wrote and
directed the Academy Award–nominated IMAX documentary
The Living Sea.
“The first HP-sponsored project I worked on was ‘Mission:
Space’ at Epcot Center in 2003. Even then, I knew HP
was willing to invest in people to deeply learn about and
understand their customers and partners.”
COLLABORATION FOR PATIENT ENGAGEMENT
AND POPULATION HEALTH MANAGEMENT
In May 2017, HP and Reimagine Well brought their cancer
treatment and virtual reality expertise to patients at Children’s
Hospital of Orange County. The research solution combined
HP’s head-mounted display and EliteDesk 800 G3 PC with
Reimagine Well’s immersive healing multimedia content. In
an outpatient chemotherapy setting, Reimagine Well designers
and HP engineers showcased a 3D underwater video for the
adolescent and young adult patients.