The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) partnered with Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Design & Media (SDM) to develop immersive VR applications that prepare paediatric patients for radiotherapy treatment. The collaboration began in 2022 with a VR application simulating the CT scanner environment, which proved successful enough to warrant an expanded programme in 2024 covering both photon and proton radiotherapy rooms.
The expanded project produced four VR applications — two for each radiotherapy room type. One application per room is an animated five-minute sequence featuring a virtual young patient named Max alongside hospital staff, providing an overview of the treatment process. The second is a fully interactive experience that allows patients to control radiotherapy machinery in real time using either controllers or hand tracking, giving them direct familiarity with the equipment and environment.
To make the clinical environments less intimidating, the design team reimagined the radiotherapy rooms as futuristic spaceship interiors. A character called Perry, an alien guide, leads patients through the process alongside space-themed elements including cosmic window views, holographic displays, and futuristic machinery. This approach blends clinical accuracy with engaging fantasy elements designed to educate and comfort young patients.
The development pipeline combined Vicon motion capture technology with traditional keyframing in Autodesk Maya for character and machinery animation. 3D assets were modelled in Maya and Adobe Substance 3D, with the final applications compiled as Android APK files for the Meta Quest headset using Unity. The project followed a three-stage workflow: asset creation, animation (including scripting, sound capture, voice recording, and motion capture), and interaction development.
Nine final-year students from SDM's Animation and Game tracks completed the project under the supervision of Jacques Frety, a senior lecturer specialising in VR. The applications are currently being tested with young patients and caregivers at NCCS to assess their effectiveness in reducing anxiety and improving understanding of the treatment process. NCCS clinical staff — including Alice Kor Wan Ting, Eric Pang Pei Ping, and Janice Tan Hui Fang — collaborated with the academic team throughout.
