When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the treatment journey can be just as overwhelming as the diagnosis itself. Radiotherapy rooms are large, unfamiliar spaces filled with imposing machinery, and for young patients, that unfamiliarity can quickly turn into fear. 

A team of final-year students from the Diploma in Animation, Games & Visual Effects at NYP's School of Design & Media (SDM) set out to change that. 

Using a Meta Quest 3 headset, young patients accompany a virtual character named Max through each step of the treatment process, hearing real machine sounds and even activating the equipment themselves. The team designed the experience around a space theme, transforming an intimidating clinical environment into something a child could feel at ease in.

Families have found that experiencing the virtual environment ahead of time left their children noticeably more confident and less anxious when entering the real treatment room. For some younger patients, reducing that anxiety can also lower the need for general anaesthesia during treatment — a meaningful clinical benefit.

The project covers both Photon and Proton radiotherapy pathways, making it the first VR experience of its kind for paediatric radiotherapy in Singapore. It builds on an ongoing NYP–NCCS partnership that began in 2022, which previously produced a VR experience for CT scanner familiarisation.