Water-friendly Virtual Reality and Brief Thermal Pain

University of Washington

Status: Completed

Conditions: Pain, Acute

Treatments: Behavioral: Virtual Reality psychological pain reduction

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT04245475

R01GM042725 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

STUDY00007801

Details and patient eligibility

About

Using immersive virtual reality as a form of pain distraction during a brief "painful but tolerable" temperature.

Full description

This study will use Quantitative Sensory Testing (computer-controlled brief 10 second thermal pain stimuli) in healthy college students.

The primary aim is to conduct a randomized, controlled study with healthy volunteers to explore whether interacting with virtual objects in VR via a high tech interactive VR system makes VR significantly more effective/powerful compared to a less immersive passive VR system, vs. No VR, for reducing pain during quantitative sensory testing.

Enrollment: 92 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Currently enrolled in a course at the University of Washington Psychology Dept., participating in the UW Psychology subject pool
• Able to read, write and comprehend English
• Able to complete study measures
• Willing to follow our UW approved instructions
• 18 years of age or older

Exclusion criteria

• People how have already previously participated in this same study (e.g., last quarter) are not eligible to participate again.
• Not enrolled in a course at the University of Washington Psychology Dept., participating in the UW Psychology subject pool
• Not be able to read, write and comprehend English
• Younger than 18 years of age.
• Not capable of completing measures
• Not capable of indicating pain intensity,
• Not capable of filling out study measures,
• Extreme susceptibility to motion sickness,
• Seizure history,
• Unusual sensitivity or lack of sensitivity to pain,
• Sensitive skin,
• sensitive feet,
• migraines,
• Diabetes.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Basic Science

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Crossover Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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92 participants in 3 patient groups

Control Group

No Intervention group

Description:

No treatment, side study to test the assumptions of our quantitative sensory testing pain paradigm

Low Tech/passive Virtual Reality first

Active Comparator group

Description:

Low Tech VR first brief test phase thermal stimulus + High Tech VR during a second test phase pain stimulus

Treatment:

Behavioral: Virtual Reality psychological pain reduction

High Tech/interactive Virtual Reality first

Experimental group

Description:

High Tech/Interactive VR during first brief test phase thermal stimulus + Low Tech VR during a second brief thermal stimulus.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Virtual Reality psychological pain reduction