How tragedy and the film Avatar inspired Mélanie Peron's to create an innovative virtual reality device to take away the pain and anguish of invasive clinical procedures

"Melanie Peron is no stranger to pain. A migraine sufferer for years, she tried everything from drugs to alternative therapies, all to no avail. Yet, it wasn’t her migraines that set her on the quest to alleviate pain and suffering for patients everywhere. Instead, it was tragedy and having to witness first-hand the extremely invasive and painful treatments that her partner of 12 years had to endure to treat his leukaemia.
Melanie, just 29 at the time, was informed by the medical team that half her partner’s care would be quality of life care, which would fall to her. The remaining half was drug treatments, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and bone marrow transplants.
During those terrible years, Melanie spent considerable time in the hospital. Her partner was kept in a sterilised room for 18 months. Not even a window could be opened for a breath of fresh air. He suffered greatly, she suffered too, watching someone she loved deeply in constant pain.

The experience dramatically changed the course of Melanie’s life. She was determined to do something that would help make sense of her loss and transform her feelings of frustration and helplessness into some sort of action..." Lire la suite