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Using Virtual Reality Technology to Improve Patient Experience and Quality of Care During Brachytherapy

Using Virtual Reality Technology to Improve Patient Experience and Quality of Care During Brachytherapy

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05440760
Enrollment
20
Registered
2022-07-01
Start date
2022-08-08
Completion date
2028-12-01
Last updated
2026-04-30

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Endocervical Cancer

Keywords

Brachytherapy, Virtual Reality

Brief summary

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

DEVICEThe 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 (Ironbridge, England, UK)

Sponsors

University of Arkansas
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Intervention model description

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.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

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

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
The number of eligible subjects who enroll onto the study.3 weeks
The number of subjects who withdraw or are withdrawn from the study.3 weeks
The number of subjects who successfully complete the study questionnaires for satisfaction, procedural pain, and anxiety.3 weeks
The number of times a technical problem occurs with the VR distraction3 weeks

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Determination of VR distraction during brachytherapy treatment for cervical cancer pain3 weeksCompare the subject's procedural pain scores (using a visual analog scale \[VAS\] pre- and post-procedure) between sessions with VR and sessions without VR.
Determination of VR distraction during brachytherapy treatment for cervical cancer on anxiety.3 weeksCompare the subject's procedural anxiety scores (using a VAS pre- and post-procedure) between sessions with VR and sessions without VR.
Opiod dose3 weeksCompare the dose(s) of opioid pain medication per session (using morphine milligram equivalents \[MMEs\]) between sessions with VR and sessions without VR.
Benzodiazepine dose3 weeksCompare the dose(s) of benzodiazepine anxiolytics per session (using a benzodiazepine conversion calculator) between sessions with VR and sessions without VR

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTJoseph A Holley
jaholley@uams.edu501-686-8274
CONTACTVernon Sincere
vjsincere@uams.edu501-686-8274
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSantanu Samanta, MD

University of Arkansas

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: May 1, 2026