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Virtual reality systems can distract patients from the discomfort of surgery
under local anaesthetic, say medics at Yale University. They gave a VR headset
to half of a group of women having eggs collected from their ovaries for
IVF—a procedure that takes 45 minutes. The women watched 3D ocean scenes
and listened to surround-sound music instead of seeing and hearing the operating
theatre. All but one of the 25 women who went through the procedure—with
and without VR help—said they preferred to use the headset. “It removes
them from the reality of the pain and discomfort,” says…