A study presented at the ESTRO 36 conference examined if videos projected in a radiotherapy machine could be an effective substitute for general anesthesia during radiotherapy treatment.
Radiation therapist and dosimetrist Catia Aguas, of Clinques Universitaires Saint Luc, Brussels, Belgium, and colleagues conducted a study of 12 children between 1.5- to 6-years-old undergoing radiotherapy with a Tomotherapy treatment unit at the university hospital.
Researchers treated six patients before the machine had a video projector and six after.
Here's what they found.
1. Before the video treatment was available, 83 percent of children needed general anesthesia. After researchers installed the projector, only 33 percent of patients needed anesthesia.
2. Ms. Aguas said the movies help relax the children.
"They know that they're going to watch a movie of their choice, they're more relaxed and once the movie starts it's as though they travel to another world," she said to Science Daily.
3. Treatment time has dropped significantly since they began showing movies. They went from 60 minutes to around 15 to 20 minutes.
Ms. Aguas said nearly the entire clinic has replaced general anesthesia with videos with great success.
The researchers are extending their efforts to include claustrophobic or anxious adults.