Gamifying Hand Therapy: Development of a Mixed Reality Rhythm Game to Reduce Pain and Improve Motivation
27. juli 2026 oppdatert av: Yushi Wang, Western University
The hand is one of the most functional and frequently injured parts of the body. Without proper recovery, patients can face significant impairments performing everyday tasks. Hand therapy is the cornerstone of hand rehabilitation, but the painful, repetitive, and monotonous nature of prescribed exercises leads to poor patient motivation and adherence, ultimately compromising long-term recovery outcomes.
New technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have emerged as interactive and engaging modalities for rehabilitation, and can even reduce pain by distracting patients during exercises. However, mixed reality (MR), which is a new modality combining VR and AR has not been well studied for its ability to reduce pain in hand rehabilitation. Therefore, we developed HoloRehab, a mixed reality video game for hand rehabilitation, built for the Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset. This device allow users to see and interact with realistic 3D holograms projected into their physical environment.
This pilot study will evaluate whether using HoloRehab can reduce discomfort and improve the exercise experience compared to traditional self-guided hand therapy exercises. After development of a prototyped game, we will run a pilot study involving 20 healthy participants assigned to either the mixed reality intervention or a traditional exercise group. Outcomes will include measures of discomfort, fatigue, and user experience.
Findings from this study will inform further development of the HoloRehab system.
Studieoversikt
Status
Fullført
Forhold
Intervensjon / Behandling
Studietype
Intervensjonell
Registrering (Faktiske)
20
Fase
- Ikke aktuelt
Kontakter og plasseringer
Denne delen inneholder kontaktinformasjon for de som utfører studien, og informasjon om hvor denne studien blir utført.
Studiesteder
-
-
Ontario
-
London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7
- University of Western Ontario
-
-
Deltakelseskriterier
Forskere ser etter personer som passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kalt kvalifikasjonskriterier. Noen eksempler på disse kriteriene er en persons generelle helsetilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.
Kvalifikasjonskriterier
Alder som er kvalifisert for studier
- Voksen
- Eldre voksen
Tar imot friske frivillige
Ja
Beskrivelse
Inclusion Criteria:
- Adult (≥18 years old) medical students at Western University
- English-speaking
- No existing hand pathology
- Able and willing to provide informed consent
Exclusion Criteria:
- Musculoskeletal conditions
- Neurological conditions
- Chronic pain conditions
- Previous hand surgeries
- Function-altering hand injuries
- History of motion sickness
- History of seizures or epilepsy
- Cold sensitivity or cold intolerance
- Current use of analgesic medications (e.g., NSAIDs, acetaminophen, opioids)
Studieplan
Denne delen gir detaljer om studieplanen, inkludert hvordan studien er utformet og hva studien måler.
Hvordan er studiet utformet?
Designdetaljer
- Primært formål: Behandling
- Tildeling: Randomisert
- Intervensjonsmodell: Parallell tildeling
- Masking: Ingen (Open Label)
Våpen og intervensjoner
Deltakergruppe / Arm |
Intervensjon / Behandling |
|---|---|
|
Aktiv komparator: Traditional Rehabilitation
Participants in the traditional rehabilitation group perform self-guided finger range of motion exercises according to a provided guide, without any gaming component.
|
Participants submerge their dominant hand in a cold-water bath while performing hand exercises with their non-dominant hand.
Andre navn:
Participants perform hand exercises against finger extension resistance bands attached to the non-dominant hand.
Andre navn:
|
|
Eksperimentell: HoloRehab Gaming Rehablitation
Participants in the HoloRehab Gaming Rehabilitation group perform the same finger range of motion exercises compared to traditional rehabilitation group, but through the medium of an extended reality rhythm video game with Microsoft HoloLens 3.
|
Participants submerge their dominant hand in a cold-water bath while performing hand exercises with their non-dominant hand.
Andre navn:
Participants perform hand exercises against finger extension resistance bands attached to the non-dominant hand.
Andre navn:
|
Hva måler studien?
Primære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
Time to cold water withdrawal
Tidsramme: Assessed continuously during the cold pressor test, from hand immersion until voluntary withdrawal or a maximum of 15 minutes.
|
The duration (seconds) that participants keep their hand submerged in a cold water bath before voluntarily withdrawing due to discomfort.
|
Assessed continuously during the cold pressor test, from hand immersion until voluntary withdrawal or a maximum of 15 minutes.
|
|
Time to fatigue failure
Tidsramme: Assessed continuously during resisted hand exercise, from exercise initiation until voluntary cessation due to fatigue or a maximum of 15 minutes.
|
The duration (seconds) that participants continue performing hand exercises against resistance bands before voluntarily stopping due to fatigue.
|
Assessed continuously during resisted hand exercise, from exercise initiation until voluntary cessation due to fatigue or a maximum of 15 minutes.
|
|
Discomfort Rating After Cold Water Withdraw
Tidsramme: Assessed immediately following completion of the cold pressor test (within 1 minute of hand withdrawal).
|
Participant-reported level of hand discomfort immediately following the cold pressor test, measured on a 1-10 numerical rating scale.
|
Assessed immediately following completion of the cold pressor test (within 1 minute of hand withdrawal).
|
|
Discomfort Rating After Resisted Exercise
Tidsramme: Assessed immediately following completion of the resisted exercise task (within 1 minute of exercise cessation).
|
Participant-reported level of hand discomfort immediately following resisted hand exercises, measured on a 1-10 numerical rating scale.
|
Assessed immediately following completion of the resisted exercise task (within 1 minute of exercise cessation).
|
Sekundære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
User experience
Tidsramme: Assessed once immediately following completion of all study procedures during the single study visit (approximately 45 minutes after intervention initiation).
|
Participant-reported overall satisfaction, usability, comfort, enjoyment, and perceived effectiveness of the assigned exercise modality, assessed using a post-intervention questionnaire consisting of Likert-scale items.
For participants in the intervention arm, this includes experience with the HoloRehab game and the HoloLens 2 headset.
|
Assessed once immediately following completion of all study procedures during the single study visit (approximately 45 minutes after intervention initiation).
|
Samarbeidspartnere og etterforskere
Det er her du vil finne personer og organisasjoner som er involvert i denne studien.
Sponsor
Publikasjoner og nyttige lenker
Den som er ansvarlig for å legge inn informasjon om studien leverer frivillig disse publikasjonene. Disse kan handle om alt relatert til studiet.
Generelle publikasjoner
- Wolf S, Hardy JD. STUDIES ON PAIN. OBSERVATIONS ON PAIN DUE TO LOCAL COOLING AND ON FACTORS INVOLVED IN THE "COLD PRESSOR" EFFECT. J Clin Invest. 1941 Sep;20(5):521-33. doi: 10.1172/JCI101245. No abstract available.
- Mott J, Bucolo S, Cuttle L, Mill J, Hilder M, Miller K, Kimble RM. The efficacy of an augmented virtual reality system to alleviate pain in children undergoing burns dressing changes: a randomised controlled trial. Burns. 2008 Sep;34(6):803-8. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2007.10.010. Epub 2008 Mar 5.
- Ali RR, Selim AO, Abdel Ghafar MA, Abdelraouf OR, Ali OI. Virtual reality as a pain distractor during physical rehabilitation in pediatric burns. Burns. 2022 Mar;48(2):303-308. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2021.04.031. Epub 2021 May 5.
- Neiman NR, Falkson SR, Rodriguez ST, Wang EY, Hemphill SF, Khoury ME, Kist MN, Jackson CD, Caruso TJ. Quantifying virtual reality pain modulation in healthy volunteers: A randomized, crossover study. J Clin Anesth. 2022 Sep;80:110876. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinane.2022.110876. Epub 2022 May 4.
- Moreau S, Therond A, Cerda IH, Studer K, Pan A, Tharpe J, Crowther JE, Abd-Elsayed A, Gilligan C, Tolba R, Ashina S, Schatman ME, Kaye AD, Yong RJ, Robinson CL. Virtual Reality in Acute and Chronic Pain Medicine: An Updated Review. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2024 Sep;28(9):893-928. doi: 10.1007/s11916-024-01246-2. Epub 2024 Apr 8.
- Birnie KA, Noel M, Chambers CT, von Baeyer CL, Fernandez CV. The cold pressor task: is it an ethically acceptable pain research method in children? J Pediatr Psychol. 2011 Nov-Dec;36(10):1071-81. doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsq092. Epub 2010 Oct 5.
- Pereira MF, Prahm C, Kolbenschlag J, Oliveira E, Rodrigues NF. Application of AR and VR in hand rehabilitation: A systematic review. J Biomed Inform. 2020 Nov;111:103584. doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2020.103584. Epub 2020 Oct 2.
- Zhang C, Yu S. The Technology to Enhance Patient Motivation in Virtual Reality Rehabilitation: A Review. Games Health J. 2024 Aug;13(4):215-233. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2023.0069.
- Khamees KM, Deldar K, Yazarlu O, Tuama AM, Ganji R, Mazlom SR, Froutan R. Effect of augmented reality-based rehabilitation of hand burns on hand function in children: A randomized controlled trial. J Hand Ther. 2025 Apr-Jun;38(2):235-245. doi: 10.1016/j.jht.2023.10.009. Epub 2024 Feb 12.
Studierekorddatoer
Disse datoene sporer fremdriften for innsending av studieposter og sammendragsresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter og rapporterte resultater gjennomgås av National Library of Medicine (NLM) for å sikre at de oppfyller spesifikke kvalitetskontrollstandarder før de legges ut på det offentlige nettstedet.
Studer hoveddatoer
Studiestart (Faktiske)
8. juni 2026
Primær fullføring (Faktiske)
10. juli 2026
Studiet fullført (Faktiske)
24. juli 2026
Datoer for studieregistrering
Først innsendt
9. juni 2026
Først innsendt som oppfylte QC-kriteriene
18. juni 2026
Først lagt ut (Faktiske)
25. juni 2026
Oppdateringer av studieposter
Sist oppdatering lagt ut (Faktiske)
29. juli 2026
Siste oppdatering sendt inn som oppfylte QC-kriteriene
27. juli 2026
Sist bekreftet
1. juli 2026
Mer informasjon
Begreper knyttet til denne studien
Ytterligere relevante MeSH-vilkår
- Motorisk aktivitet
- Bevegelse
- Muskel- og skjelettfysiologiske fenomener
- Muskel- og skjelett og nevrale fysiologiske fenomener
- Terapeutikk
- Fysioterapi -modaliteter
- Pasientbehandling
- Treningsterapi
- Rehabilitering
- Ettervern
- Kontinuitet i pasientbehandling
- Fysisk kondisjonering, menneskelig
- Øvelse
- Motstandstrening
Andre studie-ID-numre
- 128579
Plan for individuelle deltakerdata (IPD)
Planlegger du å dele individuelle deltakerdata (IPD)?
NEI
IPD-planbeskrivelse
No, individual participant data will not be shared, and is retained and used only by the study team.
Use of data is described in detail during the informed consent process, and will be stored securely in accordance with institutional research ethics requirements.
Due to our small sample size, there is a risk that participants can be re-identified even after de-identification if IPD is shared.
Legemiddel- og utstyrsinformasjon, studiedokumenter
Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert medikamentprodukt
Nei
Studerer et amerikansk FDA-regulert enhetsprodukt
Nei
Denne informasjonen ble hentet direkte fra nettstedet clinicaltrials.gov uten noen endringer. Hvis du har noen forespørsler om å endre, fjerne eller oppdatere studiedetaljene dine, vennligst kontakt register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en endring er implementert på clinicaltrials.gov, vil denne også bli oppdatert automatisk på nettstedet vårt. .