AppliedVR teamed up with the National Cancer Institute to study the feasibility of VR to alleviate anxiety in brain tumor patients undergoing imaging scans. The research partners recently announced interim analysis results from their clinical study — they said that not only would VR intervention be a feasible option to reduce patients’ anxiety, but that patients would report high satisfaction levels as well.
Patients diagnosed with brain tumors experience notably higher levels of significant distress compared to other solid tumor patients. This heightened distress can be attributed to the disease’s demanding clinical trajectory, as well as its high symptom burden. On top of these challenges, patients with brain tumors face the additional hardship of undergoing frequent neuroimaging assessments to monitor the progress of their disease, leading to what is often referred to as “scanxiety.” This term refers to the anxiety and stress resulting from the anticipation of these medical scans and their potential implications.
To address the issue of scanxiety, AppliedVR teamed up with the National Cancer Institute to study the feasibility of virtual reality (VR) to alleviate anxiety in brain tumor patients undergoing imaging scans. On Thursday, the research partners announced interim analysis results from their clinical study — they said that not only would VR intervention be a feasible option to reduce patients’ scanxiety, but that patients would report high satisfaction levels as well.
Van Nuys, California-based AppliedVR was founded in 2015 with a mission to develop VR solutions that healthcare providers can adopt in a low-friction manner. The clinical research that the company conducted with the National Cancer Institute was meant to test different types of therapeutic VR modules for brain tumor patients, as well as define the product needs for a cancer-related stress tool, said AppliedVR CEO Matthew Stoudt.
Twenty patients were enrolled in the study between March 2021 and March 2022. The research team provided participants with devices containing preloaded content from AppliedVR. This content comprised 41 scenarios, which fell into three main categories: dynamic breathing, guided relaxation and instant escape.
The dynamic breathing scenarios guide the user to take slow, deep breaths in order to slow their heart rate and induce feeling of calmness, and the guided relaxation scenarios focus on promoting mindfulness and bringing attention to “unhelpful thoughts and emotions that participants might be experiencing,” Stoudt explained. As for the instant escape scenarios, these facilitate distraction through exploration of immersive environments, including trips to the beach and other locations around the world, he added.
“The goal was to introduce the VR program during a scheduled in-person visit and allow the patient to practice various VR modules that would teach relaxation and coping skills to help them manage the stress related to the imaging scan,” Stoudt declared. “Patients did not engage with VR during the imaging session.”
Following their initial VR intervention, study participants self-administered VR for the one month.
Ninety percent of participants deemed the VR intervention worthwhile, and the same percentage said they would use it again in the future. During their time involved with the study, 60% of participants reported an improvement to their quality of life due to their use of VR.
AppliedVR is looking forward to continuing its collaboration with the National Cancer Institute to expand and deepen research that evaluates how immersive therapeutics can help serve cancer patients, Stoudt said.
“Patients with primary brain tumors often grapple with significant emotional distress, and the current resources to support them, like referrals to mental health professionals, are not adequately utilized. VR bridges this gap by providing a unique, immersive experience that directly addresses the emotional needs of these patients. We are studying how VR can potentially help patients acquire relaxation and psychological coping skills to help manage anxiety and depression and offer a much-needed distraction from stressful procedures, making it a promising alternative to traditional psychosocial interventions,” he explained.
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