Virtual Reality and tACS for Performance Enhancement

Baylor Scott and White Health (BSWH)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Law Enforcement Officers

Treatments: Device: VR + TACS

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03636126

018-181

Details and patient eligibility

About

The chronic stress of police work may reduce human performance through increases in anxiety, depression, pain, and insomnia. Land's End VR may teach mindful meditation that is associated with reduced anxiety, depression, pain, and insomnia. tACS may produce similar effects to Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) without the side effect risks of SSRIs by stimulating neurotransmitter production and modulating the default mode network, resulting in reduced anxiety, depression, pain, and insomnia. These two technologies have not been investigated as interventions among police officers. Therefore, we propose a pilot randomized waitlist-controlled crossover trial of the feasibility and efficacy of Land's End VR and tACS among police officers.

Enrollment: 45 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• 18 years of age and older
• English-Speaking (The measures have not been validated in other languages).
• Willing and able to provide informed consent and participate in the study visit and study follow-up questionnaires
• Able to position head completely upright (90 degrees from the ground) in order to view the entirety of the Virtual Reality video

Exclusion criteria

• Hearing or visually impaired where they cannot use the Samsung Gear VR
• History of motion sickness or cyber sickness and unwilling to watch a 10-minute virtual reality video because of it
• Unable to position head completely upright (90 degrees from the ground)
• History of seizures
• Lesions, rashes, or open wounds on face, head, neck, or ears
• Medical device implanted in the head or neck
• Participants with pacemakers
• Participants with known or suspected heart disease

Trial design

Primary purpose: Diagnostic

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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45 participants in 2 patient groups

VR + TACS

Experimental group

Description:

1. Complete one chapter of the virtual reality game "Land's End" while simultaneously using the tACS system (chapters range in length from approximately 5-20 minutes) after waking up each day (or prior to beginning a work shift). 2. Use the tACS system without the VR for 20 minutes just before sleep (or at the end of a work shift, whichever time point is most convenient). Table 1. Timeline of Study Treatment

Treatment:

Device: VR + TACS

No Intervention for 2 Weeks

No Intervention group

Description:

For 2 weeks of the 4 week study, each group (Group A and Group B) will continue work shifts as usual with no intervention.