Designing a dream

Abstract

Can we reduce the level of pain perception in the brain? Distraction therapy has been used by health professionals for years to help children and young people cope with painful procedures. The aim is to take the focus of the patient away from the pain and concentrate on something else instead. Books, games, music, and toys are some of the many types of distraction therapy. By combining virtual reality and artificial intelligence, MORPHEUS aims to help child patients cope with pain during medical procedures. The project is led by Prof. Alexei Dingli from the Department of Artificial Intelligence (University of Malta), Luca Bondin, also from the Department of Artificial Intelligence, and Fabrizio Cali as Lead Designer from the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Science. Prof. Vince Briffa from the Faculty of Media and Knowledge Science supervised the project. [excerpt]