Virtual Reality for ICU Delirium Prevention

March 16, 2026 updated by: Devon Callahan, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

VR for ICU Delirium Prevention

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether daily exposure to immersive virtual reality (VR) can reduce the incidence of delirium in high-risk, non-intubated ICU patients. Participants will be randomized to either standard ICU care or standard care plus once-daily 15-minute VR sessions consisting of calming natural scenes, guided meditation, and music. The study population includes adult surgical ICU patients at Cedars-Sinai who are CAM-ICU negative at enrollment and possess at least one established risk factor for delirium. Outcomes will include the incidence and duration of delirium, ICU and hospital length of stay, feasibility of the VR intervention, and the frequency of adverse events. By targeting a high-risk population with an innovative non-pharmacologic therapy, this trial aims to generate data to support integration of VR into ICU delirium prevention protocols.

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.

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.
822

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 Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90048
        • Recruiting
        • Cedars Sinai Medical Center
        • Contact:

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

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who are currently admitted to the SICU at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
  • Expected ICU stay >48 hours
  • Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale (RASS) score between -1 to +2.
  • CAM-ICU negative
  • 1≤ risk factor for delirium (Age ≥ 65 years old, history of cognitive impairment, sepsis, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score >5, history of alcohol or benzodiazepine abuse, recent major surgery)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Unwilling and/or unable to participate
  • Intubation of tracheostomy
  • Self-reported history of severe motion sickness
  • Inability to follow commands (e.g. severe aphasia, deafness, GCS<13)
  • The presence of a facial/head deformity that will prohibit the wearing of a VR head mounted device (HMD
  • Those that require corrective lenses -2.5 or stronger that cannot be corrected with contact lenses
  • Having had a seizure in the past year
  • Unable to understand the instructions or to consent to participation in the study.
  • Those who are pregnant
  • Hemodynamic instability (MAP<65 despite support)
  • End-of-life care
  • Severe agitation or delirium (i.e. CAM-ICU + screen)

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: Prevention
  • Allocation: Non-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.
No Intervention: Standard ICU delirium prevention
Experimental: Study ICU Delirium Prevention and VR treatment
Device: Virtual Reality therapeutics
Patients will receive daily VR sessions for up to 5 days in addition to regular delirium prevention measures in the ICU

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
Incidence of ICU Delirium
Time Frame: From enrollment in the study until ICU discharge. Assessed Day 1 in the morning and evening for the duration of the ICU admission, up to 24 months from enrollment.
Using the CAM-ICU assessment, patients will be evaluated for the development of ICU delirium
From enrollment in the study until ICU discharge. Assessed Day 1 in the morning and evening for the duration of the ICU admission, up to 24 months from enrollment.

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
Duration of ICU delirium
Time Frame: From the time of study enrollment until the time of discharge from the ICU, up to 24 months from enrollment.
Number of days the patient experienced ICU delirium while admitted to the ICU
From the time of study enrollment until the time of discharge from the ICU, up to 24 months from enrollment.
ICU-LOS
Time Frame: From time admitted to the ICU until discharge from the ICU, up to 24 months from enrollment.
ICU length of stay
From time admitted to the ICU until discharge from the ICU, up to 24 months from enrollment.
H-LOS
Time Frame: From time admitted to the hospital until discharge from the hospital, up to 24 months from enrollment.
Hospital Length of stay
From time admitted to the hospital until discharge from the hospital, up to 24 months from enrollment.
Acceptability by patients
Time Frame: From time enrolled in the study until the patient has completed the study interventions (either on discharge from the ICU or after 5 days of interventions, whichever comes first), from Day 1 until Day 5 after enrollment.
Able to complete VR sessions as detailed in the study
From time enrolled in the study until the patient has completed the study interventions (either on discharge from the ICU or after 5 days of interventions, whichever comes first), from Day 1 until Day 5 after enrollment.
Number of adverse events
Time Frame: Adverse events related to VR, such as nausea, dizziness, seizures, will be assessed from the time of enrollment in the study up until the time of discharge from the hospital, from time of enrollment on Day 1 until Day 5 after enrollment, if applicable.
Adverse events related to VR, such as nausea, dizziness, seizures, will be assessed from the time of enrollment in the study up until the time of discharge from the hospital, from time of enrollment on Day 1 until Day 5 after enrollment, if applicable.

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.
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

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: Devon S Callahan, MD, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

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.
March 10, 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.
January 15, 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.
April 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).
December 10, 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.
January 20, 2026

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.
January 22, 2026

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 17, 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.
March 16, 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.
January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

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.
  • STUDY00004538

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

Yes

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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