Cincinnati Children's is the first medical center in the United States to pilot a video game to help children relax when they need to receive anesthesia before falling asleep for surgery.

Hess works closely with kids about to undergo surgery through her role with the Department of Anesthesia at Cincinnati Children’s, and she also spends time focused on research.

Imagine being a child being prepped for surgery, surrounded by scalpels and strangers wearing masks, hats and gloves. An anesthesia mask hovers over your face in a brightly lit operating room ...

This led her to inventing EZ Induction, a breathing controlled video game app used when it is time to put on the anesthesia mask.

The gaming app is called EZ Induction and transforms a scary anesthesia mask into a fun game controller. The last thing a child might see before surgery is a scary anesthesia mask. To help calm ...

After Susie drops quietly asleep, she is given deeper anesthesia through a mask. Gas-emitting space helmets, toy telephones, dolls and a host of other toys are also used as foils for anesthesia.

It’s common for children to resist the anesthesia mask, despite the best efforts of medical professionals and parents to prepare the child.