Forget Opioids, Virtual Reality Could Be the Future of Pain Management

Keerthi Vedantam

Keerthi Vedantam is a bioscience reporter at dot.LA. She cut her teeth covering everything from cloud computing to 5G in San Francisco and Seattle. Before she covered tech, Keerthi reported on tribal lands and congressional policy in Washington, D.C. Connect with her on Twitter, Clubhouse (@keerthivedantam) or Signal at 408-470-0776.

Forget Opioids, Virtual Reality Could Be the Future of Pain Management

It's hard to overstate just how painful a process treating burn victims is – for burn victims, air itself is excruciatingly painful. They have to undergo weeks of undressing wounds, cleaning the tender skin of debris, slathering the area with ointment, and redressing it with new bandages, and it is considered one of the most physically painful treatments in medicine. To combat this, most patients rely on consistent and heavy opioid usage.


But in 2008, University of Washington researchers published the first study of its kind using virtual reality (VR) to mitigate the use of the highly-addictive drugs. The researchers replaced the clinical hospital setting with a computer-generated snowtopia where patients could throw snowballs with penguins and snowmen through a VR headset as doctors washed the treatment area. It worked, and the study concluded that VR could replace part of an opioid dose.

A decade later, VR medicine has taken off, spawning a clutch of companies and a new field of study for what is considered one of the most promising and powerful noninvasive tools to treat pain. It's now a growing part of an $885.7 million VR health care industry.

In the eyes of Jeffrey I. Gold, a pain management doctor at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles, it's the future of medicine, as virtual reality has the potential of eliminating the need for billions of dollars worth of drugs.

If Gold is right, as researchers are increasingly finding, this could have a ripple effect across the healthcare industry eventually lowering health care costs as patients rely less on drugs to offset pain.

"That's really where VR needs to go, is into the place where you can start reducing the need for certain types of medicines that may have side effects." Gold said.

How VR Works to Mitigate Pain

Conventional pain management techniques rely on distractions like blowing bubbles with younger patients or administering pain relievers or sedation. Unlike those, VR has the unique ability to manipulate how the brain processes pain by engaging the senses with powerful immersive experiences.

Gold published a study looking at how VR impacted pain in children. Researchers gave children aged 12 to 17 who were getting blood drawn VR headsets and instructed them to play a game made specifically to soothe pain. Once they put on the set, health care workers drew blood.

They then compared the experience to children who were given traditional distraction methods like bubbles or reading a book, and soothing techniques.

The study found children who used VR during their procedures felt less pain and anxiety than children who didn't.

"People always talk about, 'you're just distracting the kid like, 'hey, look over here'.' Well, that's not what we're doing," Gold said. "It's a little bit more involved with regards to immersion, presence, something we call cognitive load."

One way to think about pain is like an "alarm" the brain sets off. VR directs the brain to set off more relaxing "sounds" in the form of a visual and audible world that forces the senses to experience something else. This drowns out that "alarm" created by the pain. The brain, effectively, does not register the needle placement as as painful as it would be without VR.

The study confirmed what researchers have been seeing for years. But what excited Gold was its potential for children: By making procedures more engaging and less painful, children with chronic conditions may become less fearful about treating their condition, he said.

"For a child to have a positive experience on a routine procedure, that can be a game changer for that kid."

Other researchers looking at the use of VR are finding that not only does the technology engage the patient's senses, but in some cases it can act as a support network, much like a family. Another study by Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles used VR to assist women going into labor with painful contractions. Researchers put a headset on women in labor showing them soothing animated scenes of nature that pulsated, almost as if the elements were breathing. A calm voice used words of encouragement to help the mother through contractions.

Women who used the VR reported lower levels of pain and anxiety, much like the children.

"What I think was so impactful about this particular intervention, actually, is that what they were hearing was very much the same things ... you might hear from a doula" said Dr. Melissa Wong, maternal-fetal medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles who led the study.

'A Pharmacy of VR'

Wong's study at Cedars-Sinai indicated VR could be an alternative to epidurals or nitrous oxide – two common pain management solutions used during labor. But, even more than that, it pointed to a slew of history that shows pain is not just an acute or chronic sensation in the body that causes your brain to raise alarm, it's also the environment around you.

Wong said one of the strongest indicators of whether or not patients ask for epidurals during labor is whether or not they have a birth support person in the form of a partner, family member or doula. Patients that don't are more likely to need an epidural.

"So it's suggesting, again, that [pain] is sort of the entire way in which everything is being approached, rather than just literally the pain fibers," said Wong.

In other words, pain isn't simply a feeling. It is also a patient's support system, surroundings and mental fitness. By taking patients out of a clinical hospital setting of linoleum floors and wheeling carts and into a magical virtual world that has its own soundscapes and therapeutic guides, their pain can appear to be far less than what it might be.

Brennan Spiegel, a doctor at Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles who oversees virtual reality programs, coined "a pharmacy of VR" -- the idea that VR therapies should be created to help specific situations, like going through labor, dressing a burn wound, undergoing chemotherapy or having an anxiety attack.

But the industry is still young and many of the devices have yet to gain full Food and Drug Administration approval. Still, there's growing demand.

Companies Are Getting Involved

Companies like seven-year-old Alameda-based KindVR are using virtual reality programs to soothe pediatric patients before an MRI and calm them before an operation. XRHealth, a five-year-old company based in Massachusetts, offers a host of applications designed to treat physical immobility and mental health.

And the six-year-old Los Angeles-based AppliedVR developed a suite of VR-based "video games" meant to soothe anxiety for veterans and treat acute pain for people giving birth and burn victims. The company has raised around $34 million to date, the most any startup in the chronic pain market has raised, and valued at over $67 million, according to Pitchbook.

Following the idea of a 'pharmacy for VR', AppliedVR has two opioid-sparing treatments -- one for patients to use to help with acute pain, and one for chronic pain. The effects of chronic pain are often long lasting stress and a feat of moving, which is why the company incorporates cognitive behavioral therapy into the treatment.

Their chronic pain product is EaseVRx, a VR device used in an eight-week program that takes patients through different educational and training modules to explain to them how stress can affect pain, how they can avoid stress, and how to utilize breathing and acceptance-based therapy to reduce pain long after taking off the VR headset.

Laura Garcia, director of research, design and product innovation at AppliedVR said the company found that patients are able to utilize the benefits of VR up to six months after taking off the headset.

"While you're in the headset, you're able to learn your skill sets and change your brain so that you're able to cope with the pain differently," she said. "So imagine having a pill that gives you benefits and relieves [pain] for the time that you use the pill for, but also six months after."

Correction: An earlier version of this misidentified EaseVRx and misstated the length of its VR training program.

https://twitter.com/KeerthiVedantam
keerthi@dot.la
⚖️FTC’s "Click to Cancel" Rule and Its Ripple Effect on Tech

🔦 Spotlight

Happy Friday Los Angeles,

The FTC’s new “Click to Cancel” rule is shaking up subscription-based tech. Now, instead of navigating a maze of cancellation hurdles, users can cancel subscriptions as easily as they signed up—with a single click. This shift is a wake-up call for SaaS, streaming, and app-based companies, where once-hidden exit options often kept users around simply because canceling was a hassle.

The rule also requires businesses to send regular renewal reminders, ensuring customers stay informed about upcoming charges. It's more than a cancellation button—it’s about transparency and giving users control over their decisions.

For startups, the impact goes deeper than UX adjustments. Many have relied on "dark patterns," which subtly discourage cancellations by hiding the exit. Now, companies must shift toward building genuine loyalty by delivering real value, not by complicating exits.

While this might affect retention rates initially, it could lead to more sustainable business models that rely on satisfaction-driven loyalty. Investors may start prioritizing companies that emphasize transparent, long-term engagement over those that depend on dark patterns to maintain retention metrics.

The rule opens the door to more ethical UX design and a truly user-centered approach across the tech industry. It may even set a precedent against manipulative design in other areas, such as privacy settings or payment methods.

Ultimately, the “Click to Cancel” rule presents an opportunity for the tech industry to foster trust and build stronger customer relationships. Startups and established companies that embrace transparency will likely stand out as leaders in a new era of customer-centric tech, where trust—not tricky design—is what retains users.

As the tech landscape continues to evolve, LA Tech Week 2024 offers a chance to explore these shifts in real-time. Check out the upcoming event lineups to stay informed and make the most of your time:

For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.


🤝 Venture Deals

LA Companies

  • Ghost, a company supporting top brands and retailers with streamlined logistics and fulfillment solutions, raised a $40M Series C funding round led by L Catterton to fuel its continued growth and innovation. - learn more

LA Venture Funds
  • Assembly Ventures participated in a $27M Series A round for Monogoto, a provider of software-defined connectivity solutions that enable secure, cloud-based IoT and cellular network management on a global scale. - learn more
  • Angeleno Group participated in a $32M Series C round for REsurety, a company that recently launched an innovative clean energy marketplace aimed at providing better financial and operational insights to support renewable energy transactions. - learn more

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    🌴🧑‍💻 Your Guide to LA Tech Week 2024

    🔦 Spotlight

    Happy Friday Los Angeles,

    As many of you know, LA Tech Week is right around the corner, kicking off next Monday October 14th bringing together founders, creatives, investors, and engineers for a week of immersive events, panels, and socials across the city. From blockchain and AI to biotech and design, LA Tech Week is a chance to dive into the ideas shaping today’s technology landscape.


    What to Look Forward To

    Insights from Visionary Leaders: Hear firsthand from industry trailblazers as they share stories, challenges, and key lessons from their experiences. Expect fresh perspectives on AI, venture capital, biotech, and the ethical questions around emerging technologies.

    Interactive Panels: This week isn’t about watching from the sidelines; it’s about engaging directly with the tech community. Participate in hands-on panels discussing everything from startup scaling to ethical AI, with honest insights from those actively shaping these fields.

    Networking Mixers & Social Events: Meet and connect with founders, VCs, developers, designers, and fellow techies across LA. Rooftop mixers, lunch meetups, and creative gatherings offer the perfect chance to spark ideas and collaborate.

    Plan your week with the daily lineup, organized by location for easy navigation:

    For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

    Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!!


    🤝 Venture Deals

    LA Companies

    • Clout Kitchen, a Los Angeles and Manila based startup, has raised $4.45M in seed funding, co-led by a16z SPEEDRUN and Peak XV’s Surge, to develop AI-powered digital twins, which enables gaming creators to produce realistic virtual avatars for content and fan engagement. - learn more
    • MeWe, a privacy-focused social media platform, has raised an initial $6M in Series B funding led by McCourt Global to support Web3 integration and expand its decentralized network for 20 millions users. - learn more

      LA Venture Funds
      • EGB Capital participated in a $10M Series A funding round for MiLaboratories, which develops software that enables biologists to independently analyze complex genomic data, accelerating research and discovery in fields like drug development. - learn more
      • Crosscut Ventures participated in the $13.75M seed round for Airloom Energy, a company focused on developing airborne wind energy technology to harness high-altitude winds, with plans to accelerate a pilot project in Wyoming. - learn more
      • Overture VC participated in a $5.5M Seed funding round for Molg Inc., a company developing robotics and software for circular manufacturing, designed to disassemble electronics efficiently and recover valuable materials to reduce e-waste and support sustainable production. - learn more


        LA Exits

        • Options MD, a Los Angeles based telemedicine platform that provides care for people suffering from severe and treatment-resistant mental illness, is set to be acquired by Resilience Lab, an AI-driven provider focused on enhancing mental health care access. - learn more

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        LA Tech Week 2024: Saturday-Sunday Event Lineup
        tech-week

        Here’s what’s happening during the closing weekend (Oct 19 - Oct 20) of LA Tech Week 2024! Events are organized by location so you can easily catch the sessions that interest you most.

        SATURDAY EVENTS

        BEVERLY HILLS

        12:00 PM

        • BIG Showcase (Invite Only):

        BIG Showcase (Invite Only)

        2:00 PM

        Light Dao

        Struck Capital, Seahorse Express

        EAGLE ROCK

        12:00 PM

        Sunrise Integration, Shopify

        EL SEGUNDO

        9:00 PM

        Administratum, Valar Atomics

        HOLLYWOOD

        10:00 AM

        Passes

        MALIBU

        6:00 PM

        • Malibu Beachfront Investors Networking & Wine Tasting:See Details

        Gaya Ventures

        MARINA DEL RAY

        6:00 PM

        • Awaken Your Spirit: A Journey of Transformation (Invite Only)

        Sagos Distro, Alma Wellness

        SANTA MONICA

        7:00 AM

        Founders Running Club

        8:30 AM

        Techstars

        9:00 AM

        Magic Mind

        StartupStarter, Inc., City of Santa Monica

        10:00 AM

        Gen She

        AI LA

        Crea, Barry's, Unsubscribe

        10:30 AM

        Plantologist

        11:30 AM

        • Pickleball Palooza (Invite Only)

        YouTube

        1:00 PM

        • Realfren Games: From strangers to an inner Realfren within 52 weekends: See Details

        Office for Humanity and Circuit Works

        • Talking blockchain technology with special guests: See Details

        LadyDayDao

        5:00 PM

        KARD, What's Plots

        THE VALLEY

        7:00 AM

        Camino5

        VENICE

        9:00 AM

        Westside Yogis

        11:00 AM

        Open App

        1:00 PM

        Ripe and Teddy's Hot House

        4:00 PM

        • Fashion Forward: How AI is Redefining the Fashion Industry: See Details

        VIAVIA, BNTO.RENT, ALMA.AI

        VIRTUAL

        11:00 AM

        BLCK UNICRN

        WEST HOLLYWOOD

        7:00 PM

        Next Sequence

        SUNDAY EVENTS

        INGLEWOOD

        12:00 PM

        Entrepreneur Ventures, VCPE GROUPS

        PLAYA DEL RAY

        2:00 PM

        AI LA, DELL, NVIDIA

        SANTA MONICA

        10:00 AM

        • Women Founders, Cold Brew & Beach View, Rooftop: See Details

        Clutch Talent

        11:00 AM

        11DollarSunglasses.com, Less Litter Foundation

        12:00 PM

        Data in LA, Amplitude

        12:30 AM

        New Moon, Warner UK Innovations

        TOPANGA CANYON

        3:00 PM

        Dreamore

        VENICE

        8:00 AM

        • Surf session with founders, investors, creators: See Details

        Surfed Club, Bow Shock

        12:00 PM

        • Podcast Panel and Brunch: LA Tech Community Builders: See Details

        WeAreLATech.com, Blankspaces.com

        VIRTUAL

        2:00 PM

        BLCK UNICRN


        For updates or more event information, visit the official Tech Week calendar.

        Enjoy LA Tech Week 2024!


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