Introduction
Pain Terminator is a game in Virtual Reality that explains the mechanism of action of painkillers (specifically nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)) inside the human body. The game is set up as a museum installation for children. The interaction starts with a physical display which explains the concept of the game followed by a VR experience which has the rules and the gameplay. The player acts as the painkiller. The objective of the game is to go through the bloodstream and block the enzyme openings to relieve pain.
Through this project, I want to spread awareness on the mechanism of action of painkillers. My research on the use of VR, medicine, and education made me realize that not much has been done to educate the consumers of medicine about its mechanism of action. Most of the work in Virtual Reality and education has been done for the physicians to teach them how to conduct surgeries. The purpose of making the game is to educate children and initiate discussion around the human body from an early age so that they are more thoughtful about their medicine intake in the future.
Through this project, I want to spread awareness on the mechanism of action of painkillers. My research on the use of VR, medicine, and education made me realize that not much has been done to educate the consumers of medicine about its mechanism of action. Most of the work in Virtual Reality and education has been done for the physicians to teach them how to conduct surgeries. The purpose of making the game is to educate children and initiate discussion around the human body from an early age so that they are more thoughtful about their medicine intake in the future.
Concept
Our body feels pain because our brain receives pain signals through a network of neurons. These pain signals are natural chemicals called prostaglandins, which are generated when our body is hit. So, whenever there is an impact, our skin cell layer (epidermis) releases fatty acids, which go inside the enzyme openings to generate chemicals called prostaglandins.
When we consume painkillers like ibuprofen, they go inside the blood and block the enzyme openings so that fatty acids cannot go inside them to generate prostaglandins. This prevents the pain signals from reaching the brain and hence reduces the pain sensation.
Pain Terminator replicates this concept by making the medicine go inside the enzyme openings. These enzyme openings are represented using rings through which the medicine must pass through. The idea is that as the medicine goes through the ring, it is effectively going inside the enzyme to block its opening. The more number of rings the medicine passes through, the more pain areas it cures.
From my research, I found that painkillers (NSAIDs) primarily work on blocking the enzyme openings on the skin epidermal layer to prevent prostaglandins from forming. Hence, our brain does not receive the pain signals from the target region, and our pain sensations are reduced. So, in a way, painkillers relieve pain by blocking the feeling of pain (not actually killing pain).
This was an exciting realization for me, and I wanted to share it with children to educate them from the early years of their lives.
When we consume painkillers like ibuprofen, they go inside the blood and block the enzyme openings so that fatty acids cannot go inside them to generate prostaglandins. This prevents the pain signals from reaching the brain and hence reduces the pain sensation.
Pain Terminator replicates this concept by making the medicine go inside the enzyme openings. These enzyme openings are represented using rings through which the medicine must pass through. The idea is that as the medicine goes through the ring, it is effectively going inside the enzyme to block its opening. The more number of rings the medicine passes through, the more pain areas it cures.
From my research, I found that painkillers (NSAIDs) primarily work on blocking the enzyme openings on the skin epidermal layer to prevent prostaglandins from forming. Hence, our brain does not receive the pain signals from the target region, and our pain sensations are reduced. So, in a way, painkillers relieve pain by blocking the feeling of pain (not actually killing pain).
This was an exciting realization for me, and I wanted to share it with children to educate them from the early years of their lives.
