A hypnosis mask to relax patients during sensitive operations

This should make medical operations much more pleasant. In order to reassure the patient during a delicate intervention, the Lille University Hospital is preparing to test a device forhypnosisannounced Thursday, April 25, Professor Philippe Puech, head of the genitourinary imaging department at the Lille University Hospital, the origin of this idea, to the press.

Created by the French start-up DreaminzZz, the device called Hypnos Pro is already used by several health professionals, whether physiotherapists or dentists. It comes in the form of a mask with light diodes and headphones that play a relaxing story. “For about fifteen minutes, the patient is isolated at the sound and visual level. He is immersed in a story”, explains Professor Puech, whose team is trained in conversational hypnosis techniques.

Thanks to the support of the Apicil Foundation and the North-West Interregional Clinical Research and Innovation Group, his department was able to acquire two masks and conduct a pre-study which turned out to be promising. “More than 90% of the answers to the questionnaire revealed a beneficial feeling, which allowed us to launch this research”, explains Brigitte Cortes who is piloting this paramedical project.

A study of 172 patients consulting for prostate biopsies

In May, Professor Puech and his team will therefore test this process on 172 patients aged 50 to 75 consulting for prostate biopsies, this operation being particularly unpleasant and anxiety-provoking due to a needle gun. This study aims to “quantify the difference in the feeling of pain and anxiety between a group that does not benefit from the mask and another that does”. Indeed, the hypnosis mask costing 2,000 euros, it is essential to prove that the benefit is real for the patient.

If Professor Puech and his colleagues obtain the expected results, this mask could eventually also be used during radiology or nephrology interventions.

But Hypnos Pro isn’t just for healthcare professionals. In a video presentation of his tool, DreaminZzz, has the famous rider Luciana Diniz testify. When the competition ends “I can relax and refocus (…) I need this motivation and the mask gives it to me (…) I can use the Hypnos mask everywhere while traveling, when I am on the plane, at home, in the stables with my horses… wherever I am I can use the mask”, she enthuses. And to conclude: “It’s a great idea”.

Different forms of hypnosis are practiced today

Originating in the Greek word hupnoein, which means falling asleep, hypnosis designates a therapeutic technique and an altered state of consciousness. Many professionals being convinced that many personal and relational problems have their source in the unconscious, they invite that of their subject to get rid of harmful ideas in order to replace them with new ideas.

Today, several forms of hypnosis exist and not all of them have the same goal. Classical hypnosis, the most widely used, dates from 1841 and works with direct suggestions. It is known to solve many behavioral problems such as phobias and to modify bodily feelings.

Ericksonian hypnosis developed in the mid-20^and century by the American pediatrician and psychologist Milton Erikson aims to solicit the creativity of the subject’s unconscious and to invite him to express what could be changed to make a situation less difficult. For this, she uses several communication techniques such as metaphors or sensory alterations in order to create a dialogue between the unconscious and the conscious.

Another technique: humanist hypnosis which aims to allow the individual to access his unconscious but also his higher consciousness in order to give meaning to his problems. Finally, the new hypnosis is a mixture of all forms of hypnosis while that of show and street hypnosis is, as its name suggests, used only for entertainment. It therefore has a recreational purpose and is in no way therapeutic.