Using Virtual Reality Technology to Improve Patient Experience and Quality of Care During Brachytherapy
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: The Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality Headset.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Endocervical Cancer. Basic parameters: from 18 years · Female.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- United States
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Overview
The primary objective is to demonstrate the feasibility of incorporating VR distraction into the brachytherapy and radiotherapy clinical workflow. The secondary objective is to determine if VR distraction during brachytherapy treatment for cervical cancer improves subjects' satisfaction, procedural/acute pain, and need for analgesics or anxiolytics.
Detailed description
This will be a prospective pilot study conducted at UAMS. All subjects will experience VR distraction using a crossover design in which each subject receives four rounds of brachytherapy: two rounds with VR distraction and two rounds without VR distraction. Brachytherapy will be conducted per SoC workflow. Subjects will be placed into four treatment-sequence groups in a 1:1:1:1 allocation ratio via permuted block randomization with randomized block sizes of four or eight.
The four treatment-sequence groups will follow the four-session treatment schedules outlined below, in which "V" denotes the sessions when VR distraction is used while "N" denotes the sessions when it is not:
* Sequence Group A will be treated according to schedule VVNN. * Sequence Group B will be treated according to schedule VNNV. * Sequence Group C will be treated according to schedule NNVV. * Sequence Group D will be treated according to schedule NVVN.
Interventions
- Device The Oculus Quest 2 Virtual Reality Headset
The hardware includes the wireless headset with integrated headphones which will block the sight and sounds of the clinical setting as well as the hand controllers for the interactive VR experience, which will be delivered through any of three VR software options (subject may choose one or more from the following options): * Titans of Space® PLUS developed by Drash VR, LLC (Murrieta, CA, USA) * TRIPP® developed by TRIPP, Inc. (Los Angeles, CA, USA) * Nature Treks VR published by Greener Games (
Primary outcome measures
- The number of eligible subjects who enroll onto the study. [Time frame: 3 weeks]
- The number of subjects who withdraw or are withdrawn from the study. [Time frame: 3 weeks]
- The number of subjects who successfully complete the study questionnaires for satisfaction, procedural pain, and anxiety. [Time frame: 3 weeks]
- The number of times a technical problem occurs with the VR distraction [Time frame: 3 weeks]
Secondary outcome measures (4)
- Determination of VR distraction during brachytherapy treatment for cervical cancer pain [Time frame: 3 weeks]
- Determination of VR distraction during brachytherapy treatment for cervical cancer on anxiety. [Time frame: 3 weeks]
- Opiod dose [Time frame: 3 weeks]
- Benzodiazepine dose [Time frame: 3 weeks]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- Female, ≥ 18 years of age
- Histopathologic diagnosis of gynecologic cancer (endometrial, cervical, vaginal, vulvar) that requires intracavitary brachytherapy with a tandem or interstitial brachytherapy
- Able to provide written consent
Exclusion criteria
- Severe vision or hearing problems that may hinder the ability to see or hear clearly through the VR headset or other condition that may interfere with the placement of the VR headset such as a head, ear or facial wound
- History of seizure disorder, severe motion sickness, dizziness, or migraine headaches precipitated by visual auras
- Known history of elevated intraocular pressure
- Claustrophobia, thalassophobia, cleithrophobia or similar phobias
- Any other significant medical or psychiatric conditions which, in the opinion of the enrolling investigator, may interfere with consent or compliance of the treatment regimen
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Single blind
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
United States · 1 center
- University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences — Little Rock
Identifiers
NCT: NCT05440760 · 261231