The Role of Virtual Reality During Regional Anesthesia

In this study, we will analyze the role of virtual reality in acute pain and anxiety management for regional anesthesia in pre-operative patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Pain; Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Virtual Reality with Oculus Go headset

Detailed Description

Virtual reality (VR) is a technology that allows people to be immersed in an artificial 3D environment with visual and auditory stimulation. Recently, VR technology has been integrated into medical practices and used during multi-modal pain management. The purpose of this study is to analyze the role of VR in acute pain and anxiety management for regional anesthesia in pre-operative patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC). Little is known about the role of virtual reality during regional anesthesia. Patients who volunteer to be apart of this study will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: one that receives VR (experimental group) and one that does not receive VR (control group) during the regional anesthesia procedure. Those who wear the Oculus Go virtual reality headset will view pleasant, distracting scenes. Patients that are included in the study must be between 18-64 years of age, pre-operative at CSMC, receiving regional anesthesia, and able to provide informed consent. No further follow up is required. Traditionally, pre-operative patients at CSMC do not have the option of wearing the VR apparatus during nerve block procedures, and some patients may receive pre-medications before nerve blocks. Those enrolled in the study will not receive pre-medication. Before and after the procedure, the patients will receive a brief questionnaire that will be used to determine if virtual reality can be an efficacious tool in reducing pain and anxiety during regional anesthesia. All data collection and storage will be at CSMC. If VR is found to have a statistically significant reduction of acute pain compared to the control group, we can offer VR to patients to help alleviate acute pain, discomfort, and anxiety during regional anesthesia procedures.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Janelle Burskey, RN; Phone Number: 310-423-9600; Email: janelle.burskey@cshs.org

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90048
      • Cedars Sinai Medical Center
      • Contact: Janelle Burskey; Phone Number: 310-423-9600

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 64 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Elective pre-operative patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center who are receiving regional anesthesia
2. Between ages 18-64
3. Patient must be able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Patients under the age of 18 & above age 64
2. Visual impairment
3. Pregnant women
4. Diagnosis of epilepsy/seizures, dementia, and/or cognitive impairment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control Group (no VR); Patients will be randomly allocated to the control group, which receives no Virtual Reality (VR) during the regional anesthesia procedure.
Experimental: Experimental Group (VR); Patients will be randomly allocated to the the experimental group, which receives VR during the regional anesthesia procedure.	Device: Virtual Reality with Oculus Go headset; The investigator will place the Oculus Go VR headset on the patient. VR will provide distracting, pleasant visual stimulus from the beginning of the procedure (while the patient is being cleaned and draped) and removed immediately after the regional anesthesia procedure is complete for roughly 10-20 minutes. All patients receiving VR will view the same scene.; Other Names: Oculus Go

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Anxiety Level Prior to Regional Anesthesia	questionnaire to rate anxiety on a scale of 0-10	questionnaire given within 1 hour prior to regional anesthesia procedure
Anxiety Level During Regional Anesthesia	questionnaire to rate anxiety on a scale of 0-10	questionnaire given within 1 hour after regional anesthesia procedure
Pain Level Prior to Regional Anesthesia	questionnaire to rate pain on a scale of 0-10	questionnaire given within 1 hour prior to regional anesthesia procedure
Pain Level During Regional Anesthesia	questionnaire to rate pain on a scale of 0-10	questionnaire given within 1 hour after regional anesthesia procedure

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Mary Vijjeswarapu, MD, CSMC Department of Anesthesiology

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Melzack R, Wall PD. Pain mechanisms: a new theory. Science. 1965 Nov 19;150(3699):971-9. doi: 10.1126/science.150.3699.971. No abstract available.
• Li A, Montano Z, Chen VJ, Gold JI. Virtual reality and pain management: current trends and future directions. Pain Manag. 2011 Mar;1(2):147-157. doi: 10.2217/pmt.10.15.
• Das DA, Grimmer KA, Sparnon AL, McRae SE, Thomas BH. The efficacy of playing a virtual reality game in modulating pain for children with acute burn injuries: a randomized controlled trial [ISRCTN87413556]. BMC Pediatr. 2005 Mar 3;5(1):1. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-5-1.
• McCaul KD, Malott JM. Distraction and coping with pain. Psychol Bull. 1984 May;95(3):516-33. No abstract available.
• Sharar SR, Alamdari A, Hoffer C, Hoffman HG, Jensen MP, Patterson DR. Circumplex Model of Affect: A Measure of Pleasure and Arousal During Virtual Reality Distraction Analgesia. Games Health J. 2016 Jun;5(3):197-202. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2015.0046. Epub 2016 May 12.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): January 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 3, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 12, 2019
• First Posted (Actual): November 15, 2019

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 14, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 12, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pain; anxiety; virtual reality; regional anesthesia
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Mental Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain; Anxiety Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: Pro00055672

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