Emergency physician Jean-Simon Fortin and UQAT professor of creation and new media programs David Paquin co-founded the virtual reality digital therapeutic game company Paperplane Therapeutics in 2019.
Who ?
Currently, one of their tools, DREAM, initially developed for very painful procedures on patients such as the debridement of severe burns wounds, the removal of intraosseous pins or the reduction of fractures, is used for children who are going to be done. vaccinate against COVID-19 at the CISSS de Laval, at the CIUSSS of center-ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal and de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal and at the Olympic Stadium.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
The Dr Jean-Simon Fortin, co-founder of Paperplane Therapeutics
The product
As part of the vaccination, for example, children are asked to wear a helmet, operate a controller and dive into a luminous world in which balloons and diamonds fly, while they are stung. “The idea came to me when I finished my medical course in 2013,” says Jean-Simon Fortin. I became interested in the pain of children. I had done a research project on virtual reality as a distraction tool. My research led me to David Paquin in 2015. ”
After making a prototype, they met Sylvie Le May, professor at the University of Montreal and researcher at the CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, in Montreal. “We did a pilot study to verify that it had a real impact on reducing anxiety and pain and it did,” continues Dr.r Fort. A clinical study is underway to precisely determine the reduction in pain and anxiety rates. Our solutions are registered with Health Canada as class 1 medical devices. ”
Innovation
DREAM and the other products developed by Paperplane, both for children and adults (IMAGINE, INSPIRE), are designed entirely for medical use and for painful procedures.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Digital therapeutic games in virtual reality rely on distraction, a method “recognized as a tool for managing pain”, explains Dr Jean-Simon Fortin.
“It’s based on distraction,” explains Dr Fort. Distraction is recognized as a tool for managing pain. We send the child to an imaginary world. The game is made to be very comfortable, that you don’t get sick or headache while playing and that there is always something to do to keep you engaged. Everyone is benefiting. It’s a neutral game, with content that can appeal to both guys and girls. The innovation is based on Gate Theory which suggests that a stimulus is interpreted to its maximum if it occurs alone. But if several stimuli are present simultaneously, the brain can only interpret a fraction of each stimulus. ”
The way of presenting the experience is linked to the specific needs of the medical world. You can just play with one hand. Only the head moves. The visual field is restricted to 180 degrees. The content is non-violent. “It’s a very intuitive game, which adapts to the age of the user, without failure or frustration,” says Dr.r Fort. A tablet for the clinician can see what the child sees and control the experience. ”
Paperplane sells annual licenses for less than $ 10,000 for DREAM.
The future
Paperplane wishes to adapt DREAM for more complex situations, for patients lying on their backs, such as at the dentist, for example.
To provide momentum for Paperplane, Jean-Simon Fortin will take a sabbatical from medicine in 2022. “As there is great potential for our products, it takes time,” he said. I want to go all out. “
I would like DREAM to be in all vaccination centers, for all young people to have access to it. I am convinced that it will have a positive impact on the vaccination.
The Dr Jean-Simon Fortin, co-founder of Paperplane Therapeutics
Clinical studies for INSPIRE, intended for example for patients undergoing chemotherapy and hemodialysis, will also begin in 2022. “INSPIRE is designed for a soothing experience in a forest and seaside atmosphere,” explains Dr.r Fort. We are working to put breathing sensors in the helmet to add deep breathing exercises that will also have an impact on reducing patient anxiety. ”
Nearly $ 500,000 has been invested to date for the development of DREAM. Paperplane has six employees. “We will probably be hiring a lot in 2022,” thinks Jean-Simon Fortin.