Travelers Partners with Cedars-Sinai, Samsung Electronics America, Bayer & appliedVR to Test Digital Tools in Treatment of Ac...
07 March 2018 - 2:37AM
Business Wire
Project will use therapeutic virtual reality
and wearable technology as an alternative to medication in pain
management
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV) today announced it is
collaborating with Cedars-Sinai, Samsung Electronics America, Bayer
and appliedVR to explore the effectiveness of a digital
pain-reduction kit that uses therapeutic virtual reality (VR) and
wearable technology as a non-pharmacological supplement to managing
pain associated with acute orthopaedic injuries of the lower back
and extremities. Cedars-Sinai’s Center for Outcomes Research and
Education and Department of Orthopaedic Surgery will conduct the
clinical research project over 16 months and include between 90 and
140 participants, ages 18 to 65. The goal of the program is to
improve outcomes for injured workers by leveraging state-of-the-art
technology.
“Workplace injuries that lead to chronic pain can cause ongoing
issues, as an injured employee may mask pain with opioids or other
drugs,” said Dr. Melissa Burke, National Pharmacy Director at
Travelers. “Identifying new, non-pharmacologic alternatives for
pain management can help an injured employee avoid chronic pain,
lower the chances that they will develop a dangerous opioid
addiction and reduce medical costs. We are grateful for this
partnership and look forward to seeing the results that Dr. Brennan
Spiegel and the Cedars-Sinai team uncover using the latest
technology from appliedVR, Bayer and Samsung.”
“The opioid crisis doesn’t just cost money, it also costs
lives,” said Dr. Spiegel, Director of Health Services Research at
Cedars-Sinai. “We need to find ways to stem the tide without
relying entirely on medicines. Health technology, like virtual
reality, has tremendous potential to improve outcomes while saving
costs, which is why we’re so excited about this collaboration among
academia and industry.”
The digital pain-reduction kit to be used in the trial consists
of a Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus, headset; Samsung GearFit2
wearable; therapeutic pain management content, powered by
biosensors provided by appliedVR; and an Aleve® Direct Therapy TENS
(transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) Device for those with
lower back pain from sore and aching muscles due to strain from
exercise and normal household and work activities, provided by
Bayer. The kit will measure day-to-day functional status, work
productivity and the use of pain medication of participants.
“Recent research we’ve led with appliedVR and Cedars-Sinai have
demonstrated that virtual reality reduces pain in hospitalized
patients and provides a non-pharmacologic alternative to opiates,”
said Dr. David Rhew, Chief Medical Officer and Head of Health Care
and Fitness for Samsung Electronics America. “This project is
exciting and groundbreaking in that it will be the first to
evaluate the economic benefits of virtual reality in the setting of
workers compensation.”
This partnership is the latest example of Travelers’ focus on
finding innovative ways to engage and support injured employees and
to help customers maintain a safe workplace and manage workers
compensation-related risks. In 2015, Travelers launched its
ConciergeClaim® Nurse program, which facilitates access to care for
injured employees and provides personal assistance from a Travelers
nurse to guide them through the workers compensation process. In
2016, the company created the Travelers Early Severity PredictorSM,
a first-of-its-kind predictive model that identifies the likelihood
of an injured employee developing chronic pain so that they can
avoid it during recovery and reduce the need to use opioids or
other painkillers. Most recently, the company launched a new
digital self-service capability that streamlines the workers
compensation claim process — MyTravelers® for Injured Employees.
Travelers also offers a variety of risk management services aimed
at helping customers mitigate the risk of injury caused by
workplace hazards.
For more information on workers compensation products and
services from Travelers, visit www.travelers.com.
About TravelersThe Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE: TRV)
is a leading provider of property casualty insurance for auto, home
and business. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average,
Travelers has approximately 30,000 employees and generated revenues
of approximately $29 billion in 2017. For more information, visit
www.travelers.com.
About Cedars-SinaiCedars-Sinai is a leader in providing
high-quality health care encompassing primary care, specialized
medicine and research. Since 1902, Cedars-Sinai has evolved to meet
the needs of one of the most diverse regions in the nation, setting
standards in quality and innovative patient care, research,
teaching and community service. Today, Cedars-Sinai is known for
its national leadership in transforming health care for the benefit
of patients. Cedars-Sinai impacts the future of health care by
developing new approaches to treatment and educating tomorrow’s
health professionals. Additionally, Cedars-Sinai demonstrates a
commitment to the community through programs that improve the
health of its most vulnerable residents.
About appliedVR, Inc.appliedVR is the market-leading
provider of clinically validated therapeutic virtual reality for
pain management for use both in-patient and in-home. appliedVR is
clinically proven to reduce acute pain up to 52 percent, is
distributed in over 180 hospitals across the U.S. and in seven
countries globally, and is partnered with 12 of the top 20 ranked
hospitals.
About Bayer: Science For A Better LifeBayer is a global
enterprise with core competencies in the Life Science fields of
health care and agriculture. Its products and services are designed
to benefit people and improve their quality of life. At the same
time, the Group aims to create value through innovation, growth and
high earning power. Bayer is committed to the principles of
sustainable development and to its social and ethical
responsibilities as a corporate citizen. In fiscal 2016, the Group
employed around 115,200 people and had sales of EUR 46.8 billion.
Capital expenditures amounted to EUR 2.6 billion and R&D
expenses to EUR 4.7 billion. These figures include those for the
high-tech polymers business, which was floated on the stock market
as an independent company named Covestro on October 6, 2015. For
more information, go to www.bayer.us.
About Samsung ElectronicsHeadquartered in Ridgefield
Park, New Jersey, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. (SEA), is a
recognized innovative leader in consumer electronics, mobile
devices and enterprise solutions. A wholly owned subsidiary of
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SEA is pushing beyond the limits of
today’s technology and providing consumers and organizations with a
portfolio of groundbreaking products in appliances, home
entertainment, Internet of Things, mobile computing, smartphones,
virtual reality, wireless infrastructure and wearables, in addition
to offering leading content and services related to mobile
payments, 360-degree VR video, customer support and more. Samsung
is a pioneering leader in smartphones and HDTVs in the U.S. and one
of America’s fastest-growing home appliance brands. To discover
more about Samsung, please visit www.samsung.com. For the latest
Samsung news, please visit news.samsung.com/us and follow us
@SamsungNewsUS.
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Media:The Travelers Companies, Inc.Matt Bordonaro,
860-277-7014mbordona@travelers.com
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