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VR for Cataract Anxiety Lowering Management--A RCT Study

A Randomized Controlled Study of Virtual Reality Simulation of Intraoperative Audiovisual Experience to Reduce Anxiety in Cataract Surgery Patients

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT07620821
Acronym
VR-CALM
Enrollment
223
Registered
2026-06-02
Start date
2026-06-01
Completion date
2026-07-30
Last updated
2026-08-04

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

Conditions

Cataract and IOL Surgery, VR-based Informed Consent

Brief summary

Cataract is currently the leading cause of blindness globally, and surgery is the only effective treatment. With the advancement of medical technology, cataract surgery is usually performed under topical anesthesia, which means patients will be awake during the procedure, able to see the light from the surgical lamp and hear the sounds of surgical instruments being operated. Some patients may feel nervous or scared due to unfamiliarity with the surgical process, which may lead to increased blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, and even affect their cooperation during the surgery.Virtual reality (VR) technology is a new multimedia technology. By wearing VR glasses, patients can immerse themselves in a virtual world and see and hear realistic scenes. Through this study, the investigators aim to investigate whether allowing cataract patients to "experience" a surgical procedure in advance through VR glasses before cataract surgery can help alleviate their nervousness during the actual surgery.

Interventions

This Virtual reality video simulates the audiovisual experience of phacoemulsification (Phaco and IOL) surgery

Sponsors

Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
TRIPLE (Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
20 Years to 90 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. Diagnosed with cataracts in one or both eyes, and planning to undergo surgical treatment 2. Voluntarily participate in this trial and sign the informed consent form.

Exclusion criteria

1. History of previous ophthalmic surgery 2. Suffering from severe hearing impairment, unable to comprehend VR video content. 3. Those who suffer from cognitive dysfunction or mental illness and are unable to cooperate in completing the scale assessment. 4. Suffering from severe macular diseases, glaucoma, or other ocular diseases that may affect surgery or interfere with the assessment of tension level. 5. Assessed as intolerant to topical anesthesia for the surgery. 6. History of motion sickness, severe vertigo, or intolerance to VR video viewing (such as claustrophobia). 7. Other situations where the researcher deems the participant unsuitable for participation in this study.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
The change of anxiety level evaluated by numerical rating scale (NRS)collected before the intervention (VR video or conventional preoperative instructions) , immediately before the surgery, and immediately after the surgeryThe change of participants self-reported anxiety levels before and during the surgery, evaluated by numerical rating scale (NRS), from 0 (no anxiety) to 10 (highest anxiety)

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
The change of Heart RateBefore the intervention (VR video or conventional preoperative instructions) , immediately before the surgery, and during phacoemulsification.The change of heart rates before and during the surgery
The change of blood pressurecollected before the intervention (VR video or conventional preoperative instructions) , immediately before the surgery, and during phacoemulsificationThe change of blood pressure before and during the surgery
Pain levelcollected immediately after the surgeryIntraoperative participants self-reported pain level using numerical rating scale (NRS), from 0 (no pain) to 10 (highest pain)
Patients' cooperation levelcollected immediately after the surgeryThe numerical rating scale (NRS) score of patient cooperation level assessed by the surgeon, from 0 (very bad cooperation) to 5 (very good cooperation)

Countries

China

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Aug 5, 2026