Analgesia Through Mixed Reality
Conditions
Keywords
Hand therapy, Rehabilitation, Mixed reality, Augmented reality, Gaming
Brief summary
The hand is one of the most functional and frequently injured parts of the body. Without proper recovery, patients can face significant impairments performing everyday tasks. Hand therapy is the cornerstone of hand rehabilitation, but the painful, repetitive, and monotonous nature of prescribed exercises leads to poor patient motivation and adherence, ultimately compromising long-term recovery outcomes. New technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have emerged as interactive and engaging modalities for rehabilitation, and can even reduce pain by distracting patients during exercises. However, mixed reality (MR), which is a new modality combining VR and AR has not been well studied for its ability to reduce pain in hand rehabilitation. Therefore, we developed HoloRehab, a mixed reality video game for hand rehabilitation, built for the Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset. This device allow users to see and interact with realistic 3D holograms projected into their physical environment. This pilot study will evaluate whether using HoloRehab can reduce discomfort and improve the exercise experience compared to traditional self-guided hand therapy exercises. After development of a prototyped game, we will run a pilot study involving 20 healthy participants assigned to either the mixed reality intervention or a traditional exercise group. Outcomes will include measures of discomfort, fatigue, and user experience. Findings from this study will inform further development of the HoloRehab system.
Interventions
OTHERCold pressor test
Participants submerge their dominant hand in a cold-water bath while performing hand exercises with their non-dominant hand.
OTHERExercise under resistance
Participants perform hand exercises against finger extension resistance bands attached to the non-dominant hand.
Sponsors
Western University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Adult (≥18 years old) medical students at Western University * English-speaking * No existing hand pathology * Able and willing to provide informed consent
Exclusion criteria
* Musculoskeletal conditions * Neurological conditions * Chronic pain conditions * Previous hand surgeries * Function-altering hand injuries * History of motion sickness * History of seizures or epilepsy * Cold sensitivity or cold intolerance * Current use of analgesic medications (e.g., NSAIDs, acetaminophen, opioids)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Time to cold water withdrawal | Assessed continuously during the cold pressor test, from hand immersion until voluntary withdrawal or a maximum of 15 minutes. | The duration (seconds) that participants keep their hand submerged in a cold water bath before voluntarily withdrawing due to discomfort. |
| Time to fatigue failure | Assessed continuously during resisted hand exercise, from exercise initiation until voluntary cessation due to fatigue or a maximum of 15 minutes. | The duration (seconds) that participants continue performing hand exercises against resistance bands before voluntarily stopping due to fatigue. |
| Discomfort Rating After Cold Water Withdraw | Assessed immediately following completion of the cold pressor test (within 1 minute of hand withdrawal). | Participant-reported level of hand discomfort immediately following the cold pressor test, measured on a 1-10 numerical rating scale. |
| Discomfort Rating After Resisted Exercise | Assessed immediately following completion of the resisted exercise task (within 1 minute of exercise cessation). | Participant-reported level of hand discomfort immediately following resisted hand exercises, measured on a 1-10 numerical rating scale. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| User experience | Assessed once immediately following completion of all study procedures during the single study visit (approximately 45 minutes after intervention initiation). | Participant-reported overall satisfaction, usability, comfort, enjoyment, and perceived effectiveness of the assigned exercise modality, assessed using a post-intervention questionnaire consisting of Likert-scale items. For participants in the intervention arm, this includes experience with the HoloRehab game and the HoloLens 2 headset. |
Countries
Canada
Outcome results
None listed