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Other News

Dec 04 2023
1

Dr. Diane Gromala to Present at the vMED Conference 2024

By | Research, Demos, Conferences, Events, Lab Updates, Other News

We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Diane Gromala, the Canada Research Chair in Computational Technologies for Transforming Pain and the Founding Director of the Chronic Pain Research Institute and the Pain Studies Lab at Simon Fraser University, will be leading the Pain Studies Lab in presenting at the upcoming vMED Conference on March 28-29, 2024. A Distinguished Professor in the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT), Dr. Gromala brings extensive expertise and insights into the intersection of pain management and technology.

The vMED Conference, hosted by Cedars-Sinai, is a highly anticipated event in the field of virtual medicine, gathering experts and innovators from around the globe. It provides a unique platform for professionals to share their research, insights, and virtual and digital health technology advancements. Dr. Gromala’s participation underlines our commitment to being at the forefront of research and innovation in pain management.

Cedars-Sinai, the host of the vMED Conference, continues to be recognized for its excellence in healthcare. Cedars-Sinai has been named to the Honor Roll for the eighth consecutive year and tied for #1 in California and Los Angeles in the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals 2023-24” rankings and ranked #2 in specialties such as Cardiology, Heart & Vascular Surgery, and Gastroenterology & GI Surgery​​​.

Our work is pivotal in shaping how technology can transform how we understand and manage chronic pain. The vMED Conference is an excellent opportunity for our team to learn, collaborate, and contribute to the evolving landscape of virtual medicine.

Participants include clinicians using MXR for patient care, patients exploring the benefits of MXR as a complementary therapy, and hospitals and clinics evaluating the health economics of starting an MXR program.

May 10 2023
0

Chronic Pain Research Institute appoints Design Director

By | Collaborations, Events, Lab Updates, Other News

New Design Director at the CP Research Institute

We are pleased to announce that our very own Tim, who has diligently served as a research assistant with us, has been appointed the Design Director of the Chronic Pain Research Institute!

Tim will actively work at the nexus of design, health, and technology in his new role. His key responsibilities will be to closely collaborate with a diverse team comprising health professionals, tech experts, design researchers, patient-partners, and international luminaries. Their collective goal? To metamorphose our invaluable research findings into easy-to-understand, accessible formats. This will span reports, visualizations, media narratives, comprehensive toolkits, and workshop instruments.

It is the ambition of our institute to relay our research in a manner that is both actionable and coherent. Under Tim’s guidance, we anticipate further enhancement in our efforts, not merely through our established digital platforms and publications but also innovative channels. It is imperative to Tim and all of us at the Pain Studies Lab that we remain cognizant of and sensitive to the lived experiences of individuals with chronic conditions.

To elucidate this approach, Mr. Tim will present at the forthcoming INFO+ 2023 conference scheduled this fall in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The Pain Studies Lab is excited about this new chapter, and we wholeheartedly believe that Tim’s design leadership will amplify our work and deeply enrich the lives of those we aim to serve.

Tim Kagiri, Design Director, CP Research Institute.

Jun 01 2019
0

SFU’s Chronic Pain Research Institute named Founding Member of the International VR & Healthcare Association (IVRHA)

By | Collaborations, Lab Updates, Other News

“We know from decades of research that virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technologies can address the most difficult problems in healthcare. Ranging from mood disorders such as anxiety and depression to post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, autism, cognitive aging, as well as neuro and physical rehabilitation,” said Dr. Walter Greenleaf of the Virtual Human Interaction Lab at Stanford University and the Association’s Founding Advisory Board Chair.

“The Association will play a critical role as the coordinator for the design, development and promulgation of industry standards and best practices for the use of VR/AR technology as part of the next generation of digital medical systems.”

“VR/AR technology will have impact by enabling objective clinical assessments as well as providing for improved skill training and procedure planning. Personal health and wellness can also be improved by using immersive systems to promote better nutrition, engender healthier lifestyles, and to reduce personal stress and anxiety. As the cost of healthcare rises, VR and AR can serve as an effective telemedicine platform to reduce the costs of care delivery and improve clinical efficiency in both urban and rural settings.”

Founding members are from 13 universities and research institutions and from 27 technology companies.
University organizations include:

  • The Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation at the University of Toronto
  • Surgical Neuro-Oncology, School of Medicine & Health Sciences, George Washington University
  • The Brain Performance Institute at the University of Texas, Dallas
  • The Arizona Center for Advanced Biomedical Innovation at the University of Arizona
  • The National Mental Health Innovation Center at the University of Colorado
  • The U.S. National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) NIAID

Founding members from industry include Dr. Gromala’s collaborator, Frances A. Ayalasomayajula, Head of Population Health Worldwide at HP; as well as hardware companies such as Polhemus and CleanBox Technologies; and health-related software companies, including MyndVR, BehaVR, and Health Scholars, to name a few. European industry members are from the UK (Playing Forward, Sine Wave Company), France (SimforHealth) and Switzeland (MindMaze, Lavendr by Ricolab, Virtual Switzerland).

For a full list of Founding Members and announcement, please visit: the PRWeb website.

Jan 06 2019
0

Pain Studies Lab’s HQP Weina Jin attended AGE-WELL’s Summer Institute

By | Awards, Events, Other News, Projects

Weina Jin, a Ph.D. student in the Pain Studies Lab, was selected amongst a competitive group of HQPs (highly qualified personnel), as 1 of 18 recipients of AGE-WELL’s 3rd Annual EPIC Summer Institute (http://agewell-nce.ca/training/summerinstitute) in Banff, Alberta from June 18 – 22, 2018. AGE-WELL is a Canada-wide research network and National Centre of Excellence (NCE).

The theme of this year’s AGE-WELL Summer Institute was “Co-Creating Possibilities: Leisure, Recreation, and Wellness – Opportunities for Engaging the Older Adult”. In this one-week project-based learning experience, multidisciplinary teams worked through a design process, from problem definition to brainstorming solutions, developing business models and knowledge mobilization plans, to successfully pitching the projects.

Weina and her team created a project to increase seniors’ engagement in a variety of activities. They designed a mobile app they named “PlayWell.” It recommends engaging activities for newly-retired populations to fight against boredom. During the development of the projects, the team received mentorship from AGE-WELL members about defining a problem definition with stakeholders, designing a business model and developing a market strategy.

Recipients of AGE-WELL’s 3rd Annual EPIC Summer Institute at Banff.

Oct 02 2017
1

Undergrad Researcher Kathryn Cruz presents at 1st Annual SFU Research Journal Poster Competition

By | Other News

Kathryn Cruz is working in a team comprised of Pain Studies Lab and University of British Columbia researchers to supplement research in virtual reality for chronic pain patients.

The research poster, titled “Exploring Virtual Reality Preferences in Chronic Pain Patients: Game Controllers, Genres, and VR Experiences” was well-received at the competition. Cruz received special thanks as the first representative of the School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) that submitted to SFU’s Student Undergraduate Research Journal.

This SFU SURJ event aims to promote undergraduate research by providing young scientists exposure and recognition for their work by undergoing a peer-review process. Organizers hope to foster a community of undergraduates who value research while engaging all students in science communication and education.

Photograph: Kathryn Cruz at the 1ST Annual Simon Fraser University Student Undergraduate Research Journal Poster Competition on September 24, 2017.

Oct 02 2017
0

At the Pain Studies Lab, ACADEMICA.CA demos VR for Managing Chronic Pain

By | Lab Updates, Other News

© copyright SFU Pain Studies Lab; Photo: Weina Jin

Academica.ca visited SFU’s Pain Studies Lab on September 26th to interview VR pioneer Dr. Diane Gromala. She discussed the VR systems that she has been designing, building, testing and deploying at pain clinics and hospitals since the 1990s, primarily for people who live with long-term chronic pain.

Dr. Gromala also shared the scientific data that validates that her VR system is an effective form of non-pharmacological pain control, as well as future work aimed at aging populations, adults and teens who are undergoing chemotherapy and for adults who are recovering from addiction. Serkan Pekcetin ran the VR demonstration while Academica.ca’s camera rolled.

Sep 27 2017
0

Dr. Farzan, Dr. Gromala & Dr. Moreno: Finalists in the Innovation Lab @ Stanford

By | Conferences, Lab Updates, Other News

3rd Annual Innovations in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health: Virtual Reality and Behavior Change conference, Stanford University, School of Medicine, October 6-7.

Dr. Faranak Farzan, Dr. Diane Gromala and Dr. Sylvain Moreno were named one of five finalists in the Innovation Lab, a “shark tank” style competition for innovative ideas using VR in mental health domains. The Innovation Lab is part of the 3rd Annual Innovations in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health: Virtual Reality and Behavior Change conference at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, 6-7 October 2017.

The triumvirate’s submission in the competition was entitled VR Tracking Risk of Substance Overdose & Building Resilience.

Stay tuned for the results!

Jul 17 2016
0

Diane Gromala presents at Canadian Pain Society 2016 Meeting

By | Other News

Prof. Diane Gromala, PhD, presented “Is VR Useful for Pain Management? Challenges” at the Canadian Pain Society’s (CPS) Annual Scientific Meeting on May 27, 2016. The conference was held this year in Vancouver.

The Panel “Virtual Reality and Pain: A New Frontier or Smoke and Mirrors?” was chaired by Dr. Jeffrey Gold, a doctor at UCLA who specializes in paediatric pain, and Dr. Bernie Garrett from UBC’s School of Nursing who works with VR for chronic pain. The panelists discussed the historical and recent advances in the use of VR to alleviate and manage acute and chronic pain.

Gromala is the Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Computational Technologies for Transforming pain, and is the Founding Director of the Chronic Pain Research Institute at SFU. Dr. Gromala began her exploration of VR and pain in 1991, the earliest days of VR. She has worked since that time on VR, focussing on chronic pain with her collaborators and students at the Pain Studies Lab at SFU in Surrey.

Photograph : Prof. Diane Gromala, PhD, at the Canadian Pain Society’s (CPS) Annual Scientific Meeting on May 27, 2016 in Vancouver.

Jul 17 2016
0

New virtual reality game Farmooo to help young cancer patients

By | Other News

SFU students Henry Lo and Janice Ng have developed a new virtual reality game called Farmooo. Farmooo serves as a pain management tool for young cancer patients undergoing treatment. Professor Diane Gromala from the Pain Studies Lab is the pairs supervisor. Gromala’s research works at the confluence of computer science, media art and design, and has focused on the cultural, visceral, and embodied implications of digital technologies, particularly in the realm of chronic pain.

Read the full story at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-05-virtual-farm-game-young-cancer.html

Photograph courtesy: Medicalxpress.com, May 20, 2016