Virtual Reality for Anxiety in Interventional Radiology Procedures

Launched by ISTITUTO ORTOPEDICO RIZZOLI · Dec 17, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying the use of virtual reality (VR) to help reduce anxiety in patients who are about to undergo certain minimally invasive procedures, specifically CT-guided biopsies. The main goal is to see if using VR before the procedure can lower patients' anxiety levels and improve their overall experience, including how well they follow instructions and how satisfied the medical team is with the process.

To participate in the trial, individuals need to be between the ages of 65 and 74 and should be having a CT-guided biopsy using local anesthesia. Participants will wear VR headsets for about 20 minutes before their procedure and will fill out questionnaires to share how they felt before and after the experience. It's important to note that not everyone can join; for instance, those with certain medical conditions or who do not speak English or Italian will be excluded. This trial is currently looking for volunteers, and it's a great opportunity for patients to help researchers learn more about managing preoperative anxiety.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Indication to CT-guided biopsy in local anesthesia
• • Informed consent signature
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Lack of patient consent to trial.
• • Lack of eligibility to perform CT-guided needle biopsy, or eligibility to perform the procedure but with administration of general anesthesia or sedation.
• • patients who do not speak Italian or English will be excluded;
• • patients with visual and/or hearing impairment;
• • patients on analgesics or anxiolytics;
• • patients with the following conditions: dementia, psychiatric disorders; headache, dizziness, recent head injury, epilepsy, and other conditions in which the application of VR glasses has been judged to be potentially harmful; and when the topical anesthetic (lidocaine and prilocaine \[eutectic mixture of local anesthetic (EMLA)\]) or tetracaine (Ametop) was not properly applied before surgery.