Pract Radiat Oncol. 2023 Jul 21:S1879-8500(23)00180-7. doi: 10.1016/j.prro.2023.06.008. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The goal of this study is to develop and assess the effectiveness of an affordable smartphone-based Virtual Reality (VR) patient education platform with 360-degree videos produced depicting a first-person patient perspective during the radiation therapy (RT) care path to reduce patient anxiety.

METHODS: and Materials Three disease site-specific (breast, pelvis, head and neck) VR-videos were filmed using a 360-degree camera to portray the first-person perspective of a patient’s standard RT appointments: including a Computed Tomography (CT) simulation and the first RT treatment session. Instruction is given for possible clinical implementation. Patient participation was divided into two groups: 1) Group-A (n=28) included patients participating before simulation and later after the first treatment, and 2) Group-B (n=33) included patients participating only while undergoing treatment. Patients viewed their disease site-specific video using an inexpensive cardboard VR-viewer and their smartphone, emulating an expensive VR-headset. Surveys were administered assessing patient anxiety, comfort, satisfaction, and knowledge of RT on a 5-point Likert-type scale.

RESULTS: Patients in Group-A and Group-B while undergoing treatment both selected their anxiety “decreased a little” in the survey, after watching the VR-video (Group-A, median on a 5-point Likert-type scale, 4 [interquartile range {IQR}, 4-5]; Group-B, 4 [IQR 4-4]). The VR aspect of the videos was especially liked by patients while undergoing treatment, with 96.4% in Group-A and 90.9% in Group-B reporting that the VR aspect of the videos was helpful. All Group-A participants believed that the VR-videos would be beneficial to new patients.

CONCLUSION: Our affordable VR patient education platform effectively immerses a patient in their care path from simulation through initial treatment delivery, reducing anxiety and increasing familiarity with the treatment process.

PMID:37482182 | DOI:10.1016/j.prro.2023.06.008