Imagine being able to travel inside of your own body. What would it be like to explore and see what is happening? Our team wants to reinvent health education to allow patients and their families to do just that. Researchers, clinicians and patient education specialists at Nemours Children’s, technology healthcare designers at OnXR, and youth with sickle cell disease and their families are partnering to design, build and test a virtual reality (VR) educational program called CyberCell. The goal of CyberCell is to provide evidence-based, immersive and interactive education about sickle cell disease and treatment options to stimulate deeper learning and increase motivation for healthy behaviors in teens and young adults with sickle cell disease.

Overall, through the use of Cyber Cell, we hope to stimulate deeper learning, and increase motivation for healthy behavioral changes. Our audience is teens and young adults with sickle cell disease.

With Cyber Cell, patients are taken on a journey through their medical condition like never before. By putting the patient in control of their learning experience, we also hope to highlight and create a catalyst for change in the area of diversity and inclusion in healthcare education. Ultimately, Cyber Cell serves not only as an educational tool, but also bridges the cultural gap between HCP and patients through the use of VR technology.

Photos: Suchat Penderson, Nemours Children’s Health

Learn more about Cyber Cell at Nemours Children's Hospital Research & Clinical Trial's Page

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