Virtual Reality and Olfactory Stimuli Multimodal Intervention to Reduce Post-Operative Pain and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Cardiothoracic Surgery
Public ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04912531. Field values are reproduced from the official study page; the official ClinicalTrials.gov record remains the source of truth for eligibility, enrollment, and contact information.
Data is sourced from official ClinicalTrials.gov public API records. Always review the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for the latest information.
Official title
Using a Virtual Reality and Olfactory Stimuli Multimodal Intervention to Reduce Post-Operative Pain and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Cardiothoracic Surgery
Brief summary
Reproduced verbatim from the official ClinicalTrials.gov record. Not medical advice.
Patients who undergo cardiothoracic surgery often experience pain and anxiety around the time of surgery. Currently, treatments for pain and anxiety around the time of surgery include opioids and benzodiazepines, which can have severe side effects and can be ineffective. Interventions combining virtual reality with olfactory stimuli are a promising alternative to opioids and benzodiazepines in the treatment of pain and anxiety around the time of surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a virtual reality and olfactory stimuli multimodal intervention in patients undergoing cardiothoracic surgery. In addition, the investigators will evaluate the preliminary effects of the VR/OS intervention on patient pain and anxiety before and after cardiothoracic surgery. Patients who meet study inclusion criteria and are undergoing cardiothoracic surgery may participate in this study. Patients have an equal being assigned to undergo the virtual reality and olfactory stimuli intervention or continue getting usual medical care with their doctor. If the patient is assigned to receive the virtual reality and olfactory stimuli intervention, the first therapy session will take place approximately two to four weeks before surgery. This will involve wearing a virtual reality headset and scented necklace for approximately 10 minutes. The second session will occur 90 minutes before the surgery. Additionally, for each day the patient recovers in the hospital after surgery, the patient will receive one session in the afternoon. During the patient's in-hospital recovery at night, they will receive lavender scented therapy.
Study identification
- NCT ID
- NCT04912531
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Not applicable
- Enrollment
- 80 participants
Conditions and interventions
Conditions
Interventions
- Virtual Realty using a Microsoft Hololens, Empatica HR wristband, and EEG Device
- Essence Olfactory Necklace Device
- Bedside Olfaction Device Device
Device
Eligibility (public fields only)
- Age range
- 18 Years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Healthy volunteers not accepted
This page does not interpret eligibility. Detailed inclusion and exclusion criteria are on the official ClinicalTrials.gov record.
Study timeline
- Start date
- Sep 30, 2022
- Primary completion
- May 30, 2028
- Completion
- Jun 29, 2028
- Last update posted
- Feb 19, 2026
2022 – 2028
United States locations
- U.S. sites
- 1
- U.S. states
- 1
- U.S. cities
- 1
| Facility | City | State | ZIP | Site status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts General Hospital | Boston | Massachusetts | 02114 | Recruiting |
Site contact phone numbers, emails, and investigator names are intentionally not displayed here. Open the official ClinicalTrials.gov record for site contact information.
About this trial record page
- What this page shows
- Public field values for ClinicalTrials.gov record NCT04912531, including study identification, conditions, interventions, eligibility (age, sex, healthy volunteer), timeline, and U.S. site list.
- What this page does not do
- No medical advice, eligibility judgments, treatment recommendations, study quality scoring, or AI-generated medical summaries. No site contact phone numbers, emails, or investigator names.
- Where the data comes from
- Sourced from the official ClinicalTrials.gov public API. The official record is the source of truth.
- Last refresh
- Last update posted Feb 19, 2026 · Synced Sep 5, 2026
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Open the official record
The complete protocol, eligibility criteria, and contact information for NCT04912531 live on ClinicalTrials.gov.