ONC-MM-2407: The Effect of Virtual Reality Headsets on Pain and Anxiety in the Peri and Post Bone Marrow Biopsy Period

July 21, 2026 updated by: Wake Forest University Health Sciences

The Effect of Virtual Reality Headsets on Pain and Anxiety in the Peri and Post Bone Marrow Biopsy Period

The purpose of this research study is to see if a virtual reality (VR) headset is useful in reducing physical discomfort and anxiety experienced by patients who are scheduled to undergo a bone marrow biopsy (BMB) and/or bone marrow aspiration (BMA).

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

This will be a randomized controlled trial comparing standard of care to standard of care + VR intervention for adult participants who have or are suspected of having a malignant hematologic disorder and are scheduled for an outpatient bone marrow biopsy (BMB) and/or bone marrow aspiration (BMA). Participants will be randomized 1:1. Participants will be risk stratified based on whether they are undergoing a biopsy for the first time or not.

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 (Estimated)

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.
160

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
    • North Carolina
      • Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, 28204

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Ability to understand and willingness to sign an IRB-approved informed consent directly.
  2. Must be 18 years or older at time of consent.
  3. Scheduled for an outpatient bone marrow biopsy (BMB) and/or bone marrow aspiration (BMA). Note that this does not need to be the participant's first BMB/BMA.
  4. Participant should be suspected of or being diagnosed with a malignant hematologic disease (i.e., Acute or chronic leukemia, lymphoma, clonal plasma cell disorder, etc.) per the investigator.
  5. Ability to read and understand the English language.
  6. As determined by the enrolling investigator, ability of the participant to understand and comply with study procedures for the entire length of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Participant is prescribed analgesics or anxiolytics for the purpose of reducing pain or anxiety prior to the procedure.
  2. Participant with known intolerance to using virtual reality devices, significant motion sickness, history of seizures, history of vestibular disorders, or heart conditions (unstable angina, recent myocardial infarction within the last 3 months, decompensated heart failure, uncontrolled arrhythmias-ventricular tachycardia, a fibrillation with rapid ventricular rate), history of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) per participant report.
  3. Participants with pacemakers, defibrillators, hearing aid, or other implanted medical device. The Meta Quest device contains magnets and components that emit magnetic/electromagnetic fields which could affect the operation of nearby electronics and medical devices.
  4. Planned to undergo the bone marrow biopsy/bone marrow aspiration via Interventional Radiology or as an inpatient admission.

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: Supportive Care
  • 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.
Other: Standard of Care
Other: Standard of Care
Standard of care for a bone marrow biopsy/bone marrow aspiration includes routine site-specific lidocaine anesthetic.
Other: Virtual Reality intervention and Standard of Care
Other: Standard of Care
Standard of care for a bone marrow biopsy/bone marrow aspiration includes routine site-specific lidocaine anesthetic.
Other: Virtual Reality intervention
Participants will wear the VR headset (Quest 3 by Meta) during your bone marrow procedure.

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
Numeric Rating Scale Pain Scores Immediately Post-biopsy
Time Frame: Single time point evaluation completed immediately following biopsy procedure
For each participant, the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score immediately post-biopsy will be captured indicating the participants' severity of pain. The score for each participant will be categorized into 6 ordinal categories (0 No Pain, 1-2 Very Mild, 3-4 Mild, 5-6 Moderate, 7-8 Severe, 9-10 Unbearable) and used to assess if those using the Virtual Reality Headset during the procedure experienced less overall pain immediately following the bone marrow biopsy.
Single time point evaluation completed immediately following biopsy procedure

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
Single time point evaluation completed immediately following biopsy procedure
Time Frame: Single time point evaluation completed 24 hours after biopsy procedure.
For each participant, the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) score 24 hrs (-6 hrs/+12 hrs) post-biopsy will be captured indicating the participants' severity of pain. The score for each participant will be categorized into 6 ordinal categories (0 No Pain, 1-2 Very Mild, 3-4 Mild, 5-6 Moderate, 7-8 Severe, 9-10 Unbearable) and used to assess if those using the Virtual Reality Headset during the procedure experienced less overall persisting pain.
Single time point evaluation completed 24 hours after biopsy procedure.
State Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait-5 Change Score
Time Frame: Two time point evaluations completed immediately following and 24 hours after biopsy procedure.
The State Trait Anxiety Inventory Trait-5 (STAIT-5) is a five-item assessment scored on a 4-point Likert scale (1-Not at all, 2-Somewhat, 3-Moderately So, 4-Very Much So) that captures the participants' current state of anxiety with higher scores indicating more anxiety. The five items are as follows: I feel upset, I feel frightened, I feel nervous, I am jittery, I feel confused. The total scores can range from 5 to 20 and the reduction and impact on participants' anxiety while using the Virtual Reality Headset will be based on the change from pre and post biopsy assessments.
Two time point evaluations completed immediately following and 24 hours after biopsy procedure.
Likelihood to Repeat
Time Frame: Single time point evaluation completed 24 hours after biopsy procedure.
The likelihood of the participant being willing to complete a repeat bone marrow biopsy if deemed medically beneficial will be captured on a 5-point Likert scale immediately following the procedure. Participants will be asked to provide their response to: Please rate your agreement with having the bone marrow biopsy/ bone marrow aspirate procedure done again if deemed medically beneficial. Potential responses can be reported as 1-strongly Disagree, 2-Disagree, 3-Neutral/unsure, 4-Agree and 5-Strongly Agree.
Single time point evaluation completed 24 hours after biopsy procedure.

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Number of participants who discontinued study treatment due to adverse events
Time Frame: Evaluation of discontinued study treatment is a periprocedural time point. Estimated time frame is less than 1 hour.
Specific to the treatment arm only, a binary variable will be determined for each participant indicating whether or not the subject discontinued use of the virtual reality headset due to adverse events (i.e., headache, neck pain, dizziness, seizures, eye strain or muscle twitching, or syncope).
Evaluation of discontinued study treatment is a periprocedural time point. Estimated time frame is less than 1 hour.

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.
Wake Forest University Health Sciences

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.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute

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: Cindy Varga, MD, Wake Forest University Health Sciences

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.
January 23, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
February 1, 2028

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).
September 23, 2025

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.
September 30, 2025

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.
October 2, 2025

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.
July 23, 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.
July 21, 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.
July 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.
  • IRB00136466
  • P30CA012197 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • ONC-MM-2407 (Other Identifier: Atrium Health)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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