TUHF’s Ignite for Impact Awards highlight projects pushing the boundaries of innovation in TUH. Here we take a closer look at one of the award winners –Virtual Reality Sedation – Interventional Radiology.

As part of TUHF Ignite for Impact initiative this innovative project – Virtual Reality Sedation – from the Interventional Radiology team was awarded funding of €10,000. The main objective of the project is to provide an alternative to intravenous sedation for patients and allow the team to perform procedures whilst maintaining patient comfort.

Interventional Radiologist Dr Michael Brassil explained: “This has resulted in high patient satisfaction, shorter period of observation prior to discharge, and patients may drive home after their procedure. Our nursing staff have all trained in use of the VR headset and administer it based on their own clinical judgement. Many patients avail of this service rather than requesting intravenous sedation, some procedures now require less IV sedation. Staff are proud to offer an innovative service that is only available in IR TUH.”

More than 200 patients have benefited from virtual reality sedation providing medical hypnosis in Interventional Radiology so far – with huge success. The team is currently collating patient experiences for a poster to educate new patients on their sedation options.

“Performing several procedures without IV sedation, such as Port and Permcath insertions using local anesthesia and VR sedation has proven to doubters that this novel form of medical hypnosis has a role in our patient care. We have bridged a large gap between treating patients with IV sedation and nothing at all.”

Innovate Health empowers hospital staff to think creatively and explore new ideas, driving significant advancements in patient care and healthcare technology. You can learn more about Innovate Health here:Innovate Health - Tallaght University Hospital Foundation (tuhf.ie)