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The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation at Children’s National Medical Center in New York has opened a new Pain Medicine Care Complex, which aims at eliminating pain in children.

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The Pain Medicine Care Complex combines new treatment approaches with sophisticated data collection via novel gaming technology that fully engage young patients and also objectively measures their treatment progress over time.

Specially designed for children and teens, the physicians in the Pain Medicine Care Complex quantitatively measure pain and assess treatment progress in pediatric patients.

Designed to provide relief to the children from pain, the Pain Medicine Care Complex features a Multi-Sensory Room (MSR) in which a physical therapist uses video gaming therapy that distracts the patient, while simultaneously digitally measuring treatment progress through Kinect technology and a proprietary software application to gather patient data in real-time. This app targets and tracks 24 musculoskeletal points in the body.

It also features a high-tech, interactive POD bed, which is designed by the interior designer Alberto Frias. Serving as a biofeedback environment, the bed features heart rate monitors, soothing lights and music, and tools to monitor a patient’s response to therapy and reduce patient anxiety.

Apart from that the facility is also equipped with state-of-the-art teleconference and telemedicine technology, which allows the pain medicine experts at Children’s National to diagnose and treat patients around the world.

The Pain Medicine Care Complex is part of the Sheikh Zayed Institute, which was launched in 2009. It aims at making surgery more precise, less invasive and pain free for children.

Featuring 303 beds and eight regional outpatient centres, the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, has been serving the nation’s children since 1870. It is home to Children’s Research Institute and the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation.