Virtual Reality Goggle Utilization for Venipuncture Distraction

February 26, 2026 updated by: Montefiore Medical Center

Optimizing the Patient Experience: Virtual Reality Goggle Utilization for Venipuncture Distraction - Can we Decrease Anxiety and Pain During This Common Procedure?

This is a randomized non-blinded trial evaluating the effect of virtual reality goggles on perceived pain and anxiety scores during venipuncture on hospitalized children ages 5-21. We will randomized patients to either standard of care (including Lidocaine 2.5%/Prilocaine 2.5% cream as a topical anesthetic 60-240 minutes prior to venipuncture) or standard of care plus virtual reality goggles.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Study personnel will identify patients on CHAM 6 and CHAM 8 scheduled for lab draw prior to child life rounds and subsequently ask the health care providers if there are any patients that are not developmentally or physically appropriate to use the VR equipment. They will then screen and consent the patients approximately 1 hour prior to the Child Life rounds (see appendix A & B). Patients aged 12-17 years old who are able to read the form will be asked to fill out an assent form (see appendix C) and patients aged 5-12 years old and those unable to read the form will be read the assent form to ensure verbal assent. Those patients who consent to the study will be randomized to a VR arm and non VR arm using computer generated randomization. Lidocaine 2.5%/Prilocaine 2.5% cream will be placed on all patients that have consented to the study by the patient's nurse if they don't already have it applied. After consent and assurance of topical anesthetic application, a brief demographic questionnaire (see appendix D) will also be completed. For efficiency and feasibility, two study personnel will screen and consent families, assist with VR set up and removal, and conduct post procedure assessment.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
126

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • New York
      • The Bronx, New York, United States, 10467
        • Montefiore Medical Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

1 year to 17 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

patients aged 5-21 years old admitted to the 6th floor of the inpatient unit who are scheduled for a venipuncture during morning phlebotomy rounds

Exclusion Criteria:

Patients developmentally or physically not appropriate to use the VR equipment as determined by their parent, guardian or healthcare provider, if there is discomfort related to wearing the goggles (for example: recent neurosurgery, migraines, hardware on head), patient have photosensitive seizures or infectious concern such as scabies, lice, COVID-19 that can't reliably be disinfected.

Patient (>18) or Parent or guardian (for patient < 18) that does not speak English, Spanish or Arabic will be excluded.

If patient refuses Lidocaine 2.5%/Prilocaine 2.5% cream use they will also be excluded from the study.

-

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: VR goggle with venipuncture
Virtual reality goggles SamsungGearVR supplied by KindVR will be placed on patients at least 2 min prior to venipuncture. All patients will also receive Lidocaine 2.5%/Prilocaine 2.5% cream at least 60 min prior to venipuncture.
Device: Virtual Reality Goggles
Virtual reality goggles will placed at least 2 min prior to venipuncture to deteremine if it mitigates perceived anxiety or perceived pain scores.
No Intervention: no VR goggle with venipuncture
Patients will receive Lidocaine 2.5%/Prilocaine 2.5% cream at least 60 min prior to venipuncture but NO virtual reality goggles.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Perceived Pain Scale
Time Frame: Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediately after venipuncture
Change in perceived pain from pre-venipuncture to post-venipuncture (during the blood draw) will be assessed using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating scale. Children, or parents on behalf of children, will be asked to communicate the severity of the pain the child is experiencing using the FACES scale which contains a series of 6 different facial expressions correlated to numbers (i.e., 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10) ranging from a happy face at "0" indicating "no hurt" to a crying face at "10" indicating "hurts worst." Higher scale scores signify worse pain severity. Change in group mean FACES scale scores will be summarized by study arm and subsequently analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired data.
Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediately after venipuncture

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Anxiety Scores
Time Frame: Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediately after venipuncture
Change in anxiety from pre-venipuncture to post-venipuncture (during the blood draw) will be assessed using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Children, or parents on behalf of children, will be asked to estimate the level of anxiety the child is having by marking their estimate on a visual 0-to-100 millimeter (mm) line ranging from "0" (=Not at all Anxious) to "100" (=Extremely Anxious). The line increases by increments of "1" from left to right. A score of ≥ 30mm is considered anxious. Change in anxiety scores will be summarized by study arm using basic descriptive statistics and subsequently analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired data.
Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediately after venipuncture
Change in Heart Rate
Time Frame: Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediate after venipuncture
Change in HR from pre-venipuncture to post-venipuncture will be evaluated for those patients on a cardiac monitor. Increased heart rate can be associated with increases in pain and anxiety. Group mean changes in heart will be summarized by study arm and subsequently analyzed using Wilcoxon signed rank test for paired data.
Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediate after venipuncture
Change in Level of simulator sickness
Time Frame: Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediately after venipuncture
Change in Level of simulator sickness from pre-venipuncture (pre-placement of Virtual Reality goggles) to post-venipuncture (removal of VR goggles) will be assessed using a Simulator Sickness Questionnaire. The survey consists for 4 questions related to the possible side effects of using the VR goggles. Children, or parents on behalf of children, will be asked to respond to the following 4 questions on a scale ranging from 1-10: Does your head hurt? Do your eyes hurt? Do you have an upset stomach? Do you feel dizzy? Total scores will be summed for an overall possible scoring range of 4-40 with higher scores indicating worse sickness symptoms. Change in simulator sickness scores will be summarized by study arm.
Approximately 1 hour prior to venipuncture and again immediately after venipuncture
Pre-venipuncture anxiety scores in participants with prior hospitalizations or prior medical problems.
Time Frame: Baseline
Level of pre venipuncture anxiety scores in participants with prior hospitalizations or prior medical problems will be evaluated. Anxiety scores will be collected using the VAS tool. Children, or parents on behalf of children, will be asked to estimate the level of anxiety the child is having by marking their estimate on a visual 0-to-100mm line ranging from "0" (=Not at all Anxious) to "100" (=Extremely Anxious). The line increases by increments of "1" from left to right. A score of ≥ 30mm is considered anxious. Prior hospitalization data and prior medical problem information will be extracted via chart review. Anxiety scores will be summarized by study arm using basic descriptive statistics. An independent t test will be used to asses whether anxiety scores are normally distributed or Mann U test if not normally distributed.
Baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Montefiore Medical Center

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
KindVR

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Courtney A McNamara, MD, Montefiore Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

  • Gold JI, SooHoo M, Laikin AM, Lane AS, Klein MJ. Effect of an Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention on Pain and Anxiety Associated With Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Placement in the Pediatric Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(8):e2122569. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.22569

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 16, 2021

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
October 20, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
October 20, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 16, 2020

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 20, 2020

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 21, 2020

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
February 26, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2020-11200

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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