Mass General to Test Virtual Reality Solution for Mental Healthcare

Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) announced plans to conduct a randomized controlled trial with Rocket VR Health (RVH) to gather insights into the efficacy of a virtual reality digital therapeutic that aims to improve quality of life, symptom burden, distress, and self-efficacy among blood cancer patients.

With a primary goal of transforming the mental health treatment landscape, RVH provides virtual reality therapeutic programs to support patient well-being. To conduct the trial, the company is partnering with the Cancer Outcomes Research and Education Program (CORE) at MGH, which aims to enhance patient experiences through research and education.

With the inclusion of 80 patients, the clinical trial will assess the impact of its virtual reality digital therapeutic on blood cancer patients admitted to MGH for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT).

The clinical trial builds on an existing collaboration between RVH and MGH, established in early 2021, to develop this virtual reality solution. The press release noted that patients engaged in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation often experience physical and psychological symptoms, leading to noticeable effects on quality of life.

"The capacity to use VR to improve the physical and psychological wellbeing of patients with cancer enduring prolonged hospitalization can increase access and potential for scalability and dissemination of this supportive care platform," said co-investigator of the study Areej El-Jawahri, MD, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of digital health at the Mass General Cancer Center, in a press release.

Taking place over a 4-week period, the virtual reality therapeutic leverages evidence-based palliative care interventions, combining interactive experiences with doctor holograms and meditations in nature-based locations.

The technological components of the program include standalone Pico Neo 3 headsets with gaze-based controls. The tool uses a Qualcomm XR2 processor, providing a battery life of 2.5 hours and weighing 1.3 pounds.

"Up until now, VR technology has been expensive, bulky, difficult to use and operationalize within a healthcare environment. Today, we can deliver therapeutic VR interventions on lightweight, affordable and ergonomic headsets with therapeutic experiences that are more engaging than what has been possible in the past. This study will guide us towards validating the efficacy of our digital therapeutic in our effort to build the go-to distress management solution for hospitalized patients," said Rocket VR Health Co-founder and CEO Sid Desai in the press release.

The use of virtual reality technologies to enhance patient care is growing.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) established a center to advance the use of virtual reality in patient care last May.

The Center for Medical Innovations in Extended Reality aims to develop and test extended reality technologies for application in healthcare practices. The medical school is partnering with University of Maryland College Park (UMCP) computer scientists and engineers and University of Michigan physician-scientists to create the center.

In 2021, AppliedVR's EaseVRx became the first virtual reality-based digital therapeutic for pain relief to gain Food and Drug Administration approval. The virtual reality tool includes a headset preloaded with software content, guiding chronic low back pain patients through an eight-week program based on cognitive behavioral skills and other methods.