Healthy Children and Virtual Reality Mediation of Simulated Pain

NCT ID: NCT06854991

Last Updated: 2025-11-20

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

20 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2025-08-04

Study Completion Date

2026-06-30

Brief Summary

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The objective of this study is to develop central nervous system (CNS) biomarkers of pain experienced during medical procedures and pain relief induced by Virtual Reality Pain Alleviation Therapy (VR-PAT). The study team plans to use innovative functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to identify and quantify the targeted CNS biomarkers. The ultimate goal of this project is to optimize the CNS biomarkers for predicting and/or monitoring response to virtual reality (VR)-based pain reduction approaches for pain management in clinical trials.

20 healthy children will be recruited for a 1-hour research visit where they will wear a blood pressure cuff to simulate pain and an fNIRS neuroimaging device while playing an immersive/engaging VR game, a passive VR video, and an iPad game.

Detailed Description

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The objective of this study is to develop central nervous system (CNS) biomarkers of pain experienced during medical procedures and pain relief induced by Virtual Reality Pain Alleviation Therapy (VR-PAT). The study team plans to use innovative functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to identify and quantify the targeted CNS biomarkers. The ultimate goal of this project is to optimize the CNS biomarkers for predicting and/or monitoring response to VR-based pain reduction approaches for pain management in clinical trials.

Collaboration will occur through a team science model to address the following three specific aims:

Aim 1: To quantify the central nervous system (CNS) responses associated with self-reported pain intensity during a simulated pain condition.

Aim 2: To assess brain response patterns to virtual reality (VR)-based interventions for pain management.

Aim 3: To assess the degree to which objective brain measures and brain responses to VR intervention modulate objective brain markers of pain.

Conditions

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Acute Pain Experimental Pain in Healthy Human Participants Children Adolescents

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

All participants will start with a control condition (no distraction tool) and will then receive an Active VR, Passive VR, and iPad game distraction in random order during their experimental pain/fNIRS session.
Primary Study Purpose

OTHER

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Control

Participants will wear an fNIRS neuroimaging device and undergo an experimental pain session using a blood pressure cuff around the calf. No distraction tool will be used.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Active VR-PAT

Participants will wear an fNIRS neuroimaging device and undergo an experimental pain session using a blood pressure cuff around the calf. Participants actively play an engaging virtual reality game on a VR headset.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Active VR-PAT

Intervention Type OTHER

Virtual Reality Pain Alleviation Tool (VR-PAT) hosted on a Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye headset. Both engagement and immersion.

Passive VR-PAT

Participants will wear an fNIRS neuroimaging device and undergo an experimental pain session using a blood pressure cuff around the calf. Participants view a video of the same VR game on a VR headset, without engagement.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Passive VR-PAT

Intervention Type OTHER

VR-PAT hosted on a Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye headset, with the active game participation removed. Immersion with engagement removed.

iPad game

Participants will wear an fNIRS neuroimaging device and undergo an experimental pain session using a blood pressure cuff around the calf. Participants actively play the same VR game on an iPad, without the immersion of a VR headset.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

iPad

Intervention Type OTHER

VR-PAT hosted on an Apple iPad. Engagement with immersion removed.

Interventions

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Active VR-PAT

Virtual Reality Pain Alleviation Tool (VR-PAT) hosted on a Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye headset. Both engagement and immersion.

Intervention Type OTHER

Passive VR-PAT

VR-PAT hosted on a Pico Neo 3 Pro Eye headset, with the active game participation removed. Immersion with engagement removed.

Intervention Type OTHER

iPad

VR-PAT hosted on an Apple iPad. Engagement with immersion removed.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Age 6-17 years, inclusive
* Subjects and legal guardians can communicate (read and write) using English

Exclusion Criteria

* Currently experiencing any pain (acute or chronic)
* Took any pain medication within the past 12 hours
* Vision, hearing, or cognitive/motor impairments preventing valid administration of study measures
* History of motion sickness, seizure disorder, dizziness, or migraine headaches precipitated by visual auras
* Minors in foster care, incarcerated, or currently pregnant
Minimum Eligible Age

6 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

17 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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Nationwide Children's Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Henry Xiang

Director, Center for Pediatric Trauma Research

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Henry Xiang, MD, MPH, PhD, MBA

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Nationwide Children's Hospital

Locations

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Nationwide Children's Hospital

Columbus, Ohio, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

Other Identifiers

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STUDY00004727

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id

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