Hong Kong hospital uses VR tour to ease children’s fears ahead of operations

Eight-year-old Aidan was terrified at the prospect of having to undergo an operation at the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon Bay in 2024.But his fears eased once he put on a virtual reality (VR) headset.Guided by a panda character, the VR programme gave him knowledge of what to expect. It allowed him to walk down the corridor and explore the operating theatre, pick the colours of medical staff’s gowns and choose how he wanted to be anaesthetised – down to the flavour of sleep-inducing gas.The fun continued as a “giggle doctor”, a trained entertainer, performed magic tricks before Aidan “drove” himself to surgery in a miniature electric car of his choice.“The whole thing is fun! There is no need to be scared of surgery at all,” he said after the experience. “When I woke up, I thought: ‘Was that all?’”Aidan, eight, shares his experience of using the Hong Kong Children’s Hospital’s VR technology ahead of his operation in 2024. Photo: Jelly TseAs his mother recalled, Aidan was having so much fun that he did not even look back to say goodbye when entering the room in his sports car.