Revolutionizing Pediatric Care with Virtual Reality
Technology is not intended as a “cure” in the medical sense, but as a tool to support well-being, reducing isolation, stimulating creativity, and offering children a safe space to explore, build, and imagine, even during hospitalization. This concept is at the heart of a thesis titled “Study and development of virtual infrastructures for Edutainment aimed at pediatric patients” written by Andrea Reinini, a graduate of the Information Engineering for Videogames and Virtual Reality degree course at the Polytechnic University of Marche (Univpm) in Ancona.
A Unique Degree Course with a Focus on Innovation
The degree course, unique in Italy, was established in the 2022/2023 academic year and has seen an average of 110 students enrolled per year, totaling 300 students. The first graduates were proclaimed in July, followed by the second batch in December, with six graduates in total. Among them is Andrea Reinini, a 23-year-old from Ancona, who proposed a thesis that was also written among the children of the Salesi pediatric hospital in the Doric capital.
The Birth of an Idea
According to Reinini, the idea for the thesis was born from the trust placed in him by his supervisor, Professor David Scaradozzi, and co-supervisor Adriano Mancini, who supported him throughout the project. This trust allowed Reinini to carry out an internship within Edutainment4Care (E4C), a project already active at the Salesi pediatric hospital in Ancona, aimed at improving the quality of life of patients during hospitalization, humanizing care, reducing isolation, and educational disadvantage linked to prolonged periods of hospitalization.
Identifying a Concrete Limit
During the experiments carried out by the project, a concrete limit emerged. Some educational and recreational activities promoted, although effective, were only accessible to children who could physically reach the playroom. A portion of the young patients, confined to bed or in isolation, were inevitably excluded. This led to the central question of the thesis: how to make the educational experience accessible even to those who cannot move?
A New Perspective
Initially, the team thought of “virtualizing” already existing physical tools, such as robotics kits. However, the real turning point came when they changed their perspective, exploiting virtual reality as a natively digital technology capable of creating new spaces designed specifically for the hospital context. By doing so, they managed to involve children in the project, guaranteeing “virtual” spaces to improve their quality of life during a difficult time.
A Potential Starting Point for Future Projects
Reinini’s thesis could constitute the beginning of a project that he hopes can be increasingly implemented. He also thanked Paola Coccia, head of the Pediatric Oncohematology department, for her support. The use of virtual reality in pediatric care has the potential to revolutionize the way we approach hospitalization, making it more bearable and engaging for young patients.
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