VR Escapism Programs

This chemotherapy patient program uses virtual reality headsets to help people with cancer escape their daily reality and leave the hospital in a sense, even when they are too ill to actually do so. Virtual reality studio Start VR partnered with Samsung Australia and hospital and cancer treatment facility Chris O'Brien Lifehouse to offer the distraction therapy.

Using Samsung Gear VR headsets, the Lifehouse VR Trial hopes to alleviate psychological stress for patients undergoing chemotherapy at the Australian health center. A chemotherapy patient can choose between experiences at the Gear VR store or Start VR offerings, which include relaxing at a travel destination and a stimulating skydive from an airplane. Distinctly Aussie experiences are also available: petting koalas at the zoo, taking a boat around Sydney Harbour and snorkelling.