Virtual Reality (VR) for Interventional Radiology (IR) Procedures

The goal of this clinical trial is to to utilize Virtual Reality during their interventional radiology procedure to help reduce any pain and anxiety experienced during the procedure in patients above the age of 8 undergoing interventional radiology procedures. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• To determine if Virtual Reality is more effective than standard care for reducing pain and anxiety in children undergoing painful interventional radiology procedures. It is hypothesized that children in the Virtual Reality condition will experience reduced pain and anxiety compared to children receiving standard of care.
• To evaluate caregiver's assessment of patient distress and their satisfaction with Virtual Reality compared to standard of care. It is hypothesized that caregiver satisfaction with the medical procedure will be significantly greater in the Virtual Reality group compared to the standard of care group. It is hypothesized that caregivers will perceive lower pain/anxiety when their child receives Virtual Reality compared to standard of care.

Participants will complete pre and post surveys before and after interventional radiology procedures. Participants will use Virtual Reality headsets while undergoing procedure.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Pain; Procedural Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Meta Oculus Quest Pro; Device: Pico 4; Device: Pico G3

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Estimated): 500
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Saloni M Dangoria; Phone Number: (323) 361-4342; Email: sdangoria@chla.usc.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Elena Gareau; Phone Number: (323) 361-6208; Email: egareau@chla.usc.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90027
      • Recruiting
      • Children's Hospital Los Angeles
      • Contact: Jeffrey Gold, PhD; Phone Number: 323-361-4342; Email: jgold@chla.usc.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Pediatric and adult patients undergoing interventional radiology (IR) procedures at Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), along with legal guardians of participating pediatric patients

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children who are at least 8 years old
• Children who are English speaking with caregivers who are English speaking or Spanish speaking.
• Children who are undergoing an interventional radiology procedure are eligible to participate in this project.
• Only children who are in the normal range of development will be recruited for this study. This will be assessed by report from the parents. The rationale for excluding patients with developmental delay is that due to their cognitive impairments, such children react to the stressors of surgery differently than do children without such developmental delay. It is unclear how such children would use the interventions included in this study, and it is likely that their responses on baseline and outcome measures will differ from children of normal developmental parameters.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Children who are currently taking pain medication or anxiolytic medication will be excluded from this study.
• Children with a psychiatric disorder, organic brain syndrome, intellectual disability, or other known cognitive/neurological disorders
• Children with visual, auditory, or tactile deficits that would interfere with the ability to complete the experimental tasks
• Children with a history of seizure disorder.
• Children currently sick with flu-like symptoms or experiencing a headache or earache.
• Children with known or suspected motion sickness.
• Children with cochlear implants or pacemakers.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

Use of Virtual Reality; Five minutes before the procedure and wear it throughout the procedure and can keep it on up to two minutes after procedure.

Device: Meta Oculus Quest Pro; Participants 10 and older can use the Meta Oculus Quest Pro headset. The headset contains content that is appropriate for patients of 10 and older with no developmental delays. The visual a bright, vibrant color and a quality image. The Virtual reality game is equipped enables the player to look around the virtual environment. In addition, there is the option to interact with the Virtual reality environment using a handheld remote. Therefore, the child will be receiving distraction via 3-D visual and auditory sensory, and tactile feedback, thus supplying a multi-sensory immersive experience. While wearing these glasses, the children only can see the Head-Mounted Display screen so that the immersion and presence will be increased. The Virtual reality glasses will be sanitized before every use so that the chance of infection will be minimized.; Device: Pico 4; Participants 8-18 can use the Pico 4 headset. The headset contains content that is appropriate for patients aged 8-18 with no developmental delays. The visual a bright, vibrant color and a quality image. The Virtual reality game is equipped enables the player to look around the virtual environment. In addition, there is the option to interact with the Virtual reality environment using a handheld remote. Therefore, the child will be receiving distraction via 3-D visual and auditory sensory, and tactile feedback, thus supplying a multi-sensory immersive experience. While wearing these glasses, the children only can see the Head-Mounted Display screen so that the immersion and presence will be increased. The Virtual reality glasses will be sanitized before every use so that the chance of infection will be minimized.; Device: Pico G3; Participants 13 and older can use the Pico G3 headset. The headset contains content that is appropriate for patients of 13 and older with no developmental delays. The visual a bright, vibrant color and a quality image. The Virtual reality game is equipped enables the player to look around the virtual environment. In addition, there is the option to interact with the Virtual reality environment using a handheld remote. Therefore, the child will be receiving distraction via 3-D visual and auditory sensory, and tactile feedback, thus supplying a multi-sensory immersive experience. While wearing these glasses, the children only can see the Head-Mounted Display screen so that the immersion and presence will be increased. The Virtual reality glasses will be sanitized before every use so that the chance of infection will be minimized.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean Change from baseline in Pain Intensity During Interventional Radiology Procedures	Pain intensity will be assessed using the Faces Pain Scale - Revised (FPS-R), a validated self-report measure for children. The scale will be administered immediately before and after the intervention to evaluate changes in pain levels. Mean differences will be analyzed through paired samples t-test. 6 different faces representing various intensities of pain, ranging from "no pain" to "very much pain".	Baseline to 1 hour post-intervention
Mean Change from baseline in Anxiety Intensity During Interventional Radiology Procedures	Pain intensity will be assessed using the VAS Anxiety Scale and Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI), a validated self-report measure for children. The scale will be administered immediately before and after the intervention to evaluate changes in pain levels. Mean differences will be analyzed through paired samples t-test. scale from 1 - 10 with 10 being highest anxiety score.	Baseline to 1 hour post-intervention
Mean satisfaction score for procedural success from caregivers.	Caregiver satisfaction will be assessed using a validated satisfaction questionnaire. 1) Not at all well 5) Moderately well 10) Extremely well.	1-hour post-intervention
Mean distress score with the medical procedure given to participants.	Satisfaction survey scale of 1 (not at all well) to 10 (extremely well) how well procedure was managed.	1-hour post-intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Mean score in simulator sickness for participants.	The SSQ is a widely used questionnaire consisting of items related to potential side effects common to individuals after playing in virtual environments, such as "general discomfort," "headache," and "sweating." The questionnaire asks about symptoms currently experienced as rated on a 0-3 scale. An example item is: "How much is headache affecting you right now?" The total score indicates an individual's average rating, with higher scores indicating higher levels of simulator sickness.	1-hour post-intervention
Mean score in virtual reality immersion for participants.	The GRIP assesses three domains: sense of involvement, perceived realism, and sense of transportation within the software. The measure contains 16 questions where patients can respond either "no," "a little," or "a lot." Higher total scores indicate a higher level of immersion.	1-hour post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Children's Hospital Los Angeles
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Gold, PhD, Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): March 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): September 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 17, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 17, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 23, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 9, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 5, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Pain; Pediatrics; Virtual reality; Interventional radiology; Procedural Anxiety
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: CHLA-25-00315

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