Cincinnati Children’s Nurse Creates Video Game Meant to Ease Children’s Fear of Anesthesia

A nurse practitioner located in Cincinnati, Ohio, just created a game that might help lessen children’s fear of surgical procedures according to Citybeat. Abby Hess, the creator of the game EZ Induction, has tied breathing anesthesia into a playable game for children. In this game, children’s anesthesia is tied to a tablet that will display the game being played. The goal is simple: the player must get as many elephants as they can to a birthday party at the zoo, which was described briefly in an interview with the nurse. 

The goal of this project is to take away some of the fear that might come with anesthesia by letting children focus on playing the game, which Hess claims should be long enough to allow for children to fall under anesthesia so they can get better. This game is designed primarily with children in mind, as the game itself is built with bright colors and simple designs, but this is going to be very helpful towards those children, who are going to have a lot less knowledge of what is happening and what to expect going into potentially some very serious surgeries. In the words of Hess herself in an article by WTWL, she notes: 

“The game shifts the focus from something scary to something that’s calming and fun,” Hess said. “It easily engages kids, teaches them to breathe calmly, and lets them know what to expect when they go back to the operating room. Seeing their child engage with the game also helps parents feel at ease and provides them with a novel way to coach their child during the process.”

This is also important because Cincinnati Children’s is the first medical center in the United States to use games to help children calm down during anesthesia. Littleseed Calming Technologies Inc. has already obtained the licensing for the game and plans to distribute it to hospitals all over the United States. The Cincinnati Children’s medical center is the pilot for this game to test the effectiveness, which if effective, will be a tremendous help to the medical field, calming those ten and younger who use the anesthesia breathing machines.

Alex Balderston: I am a news writer with a love of all things video games. My dad got me into video games at four years old with Backyard Baseball and since then I have been hooked. I have a sweet spot for Nintendo games, however I am always looking for the new games to spark my interest.
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