Use of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality During Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Needle Phobia

Launched by STANFORD UNIVERSITY · Jun 19, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is exploring a new way to help children and teens who have a strong fear of needles, blood, or injections. The study uses special technology called Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to gradually expose young patients to these fears during therapy, with the goal of making medical procedures less scary. This work is being done at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital and Stanford Hospital.

To take part, children and teens need to be between 8 and 17 years old, scheduled for surgery at one of these hospitals, and have anxiety related to medical procedures. They also need to have a moderate to severe fear of needles or blood, as measured by a simple survey. Participants will experience therapy sessions using AR and VR tools designed to help them face and reduce their fear in a safe and controlled way before their surgery. It’s important to know that some children may not be able to join if they have certain health issues, like severe motion sickness, recent major surgery, or certain eye problems, or if their guardian isn’t available to give permission. This study aims to find better methods to support kids who struggle with needle phobia, making medical care easier and less stressful for them and their families.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Patients between the ages of 8-17
• • Patients who will be undergoing a surgical procedure at LPCH and Stanford Hospital and who require a preoperative anesthesia consult
• • Patients with an active consultation to child and adolescent psychiatry for anxiety related to procedures
• • Patients who complete a patient survey via QR code at Stanford blood draw and/or primary care clinics
• • Patients screened with the APA severity Measure for Specific Phobia (blood, needles, or injections), and have an individual phobia score rated as moderate, severe, or extreme (as described)
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Legal guardian not present to obtain consent
• • Adolescent with a significant neurological condition, or major developmental disability
• • Adolescent with active infection of the face or hand
• • A history of severe motion sickness
• • A history of seizures caused by flashing light
• • Major surgery within the last 48 hours
• • Adolescents who wear glasses and cannot use contacts
• • Adolescents with myopia or astigmatism
• • Adolescents with physical disabilities that prevent them from using their hands
• • Patients with substance use disorder in past year
• • Patients screened with PHQ-9 and found to have a depression score greater than 15 and/or those with a score greater than 1 or above for questions related to suicidality
• • Patients screened with Child PTSD Symptom Scale Self-Report (CPSS-SR5) and found to have score greater than 31 (indicating likely PTSD diagnosis)