Active vs Passive VR Games for Pain Tolerance

Overseen By Man Yee Suen, MMed

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: Stanford University

Must not be taking: Beta blockers, Opioids, Pain medications

Disqualifiers: Motion sickness, Seizures, Chronic pain, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 1

265 Participants Needed

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

This is a prospective, crossover study of healthy participants evaluating the impact of passive vs. active virtual reality (VR) games on heat pain threshold (HPT).

Eligibility Criteria

This trial is for adults over 18 who speak English and have good hearing. It's not for those who are pregnant, have hearing loss, take certain heart or pain medications, suffer from chronic or acute pain conditions, severe motion sickness, nausea, or seizures.

Inclusion Criteria

My hearing is normal.

English speaking

I am over 18 years old.

Exclusion Criteria

I am currently experiencing nausea.

History of severe motion sickness

I have a history of seizures.

Timeline

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

1 week

Intervention

Participants undergo passive and active VR sessions to measure heat and pressure pain thresholds

15 minutes

1 visit (in-person)

Follow-up

Participants' recalled pain and anxiety levels are assessed 24 hours after the intervention

24 hours

Treatment Details

Interventions

• Oculus Go headset with active intervention
• Oculus Go headset without active intervention

Trial Overview The study is testing how different types of virtual reality (VR) experiences using the Oculus Go headset affect a person's sensitivity to heat-related pain. Participants will try both passive viewing and active VR games to see which impacts their heat pain threshold more.

Participant Groups

Group I: Passive VR then Active VR Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

Participant will conduct the experiment using passive VR first and then active VR

Group II: Active VR then Passive VR Experimental Treatment 2 Interventions

Participant will conduct the experiment using active VR first and then passive VR

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Stanford University

Lead Sponsor

Trials

2,527

Recruited

17,430,000+