Video games could get kids with heart disease moving
NCT ID NCT07593118
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether playing motion-sensing Nintendo Switch games can help children and teens with congenital heart disease become more physically active. Thirteen participants aged 8-18 will wear activity monitors and follow a 12-week exergame program with coaching and support. The goal is to see if the program is safe, fun, and increases daily moderate-to-vigorous activity.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Nintendo Switch-based exergame program
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a fun, safe way for children with congenital heart disease to become more active and improve their health.
- What could go wrong
- This is a very small, early study with only 13 participants. It is designed to test feasibility, not effectiveness, so results may not apply broadly.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 13 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Jul 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Sep 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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8 to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. aged 8-18 years, with a confirmed diagnosis of congenital heart disease and a history of cardiac surgery or catheter-based intervention; 2. at least 3 months since the most recent surgery or intervention, with a clinically stable condition and no planned reintervention in the near future; 3. deemed by a pediatric cardiologist to be suitable for regular physical activity or low-to-moderate to moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; 4. presenting with insufficient physical activity and/or impaired exercise capacity, defined by at least one of the following: failure to meet the recommended physical activity level for children and adolescents (ie, an average of 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day), objectively impaired exercise capacity (eg, peak oxygen uptake \<80% of predicted and/or anaerobic threshold \<55% of predicted), or reduced exercise tolerance indicated by the 6-minute walk test, physical fitness assessment, or clinical exercise evaluation; 5. having basic cognitive and communication abilities sufficient to understand instructions and complete questionnaires, trial sessions, and training tasks; 6. willingness of both the child and the guardian to participate, with written informed consent obtained; 7. availability of basic family conditions to support intervention delivery, including access to smart devices and/or game equipment, internet access, and at least one caregiver able to provide support. Exclusion Criteria: 1. clear contraindications to exercise, such as uncontrolled arrhythmia, overt heart failure, severe pulmonary hypertension, or recent hemodynamic instability; 2. severe comorbidities that substantially interfere with exercise performance, such as serious neurological disorders, severe musculoskeletal disorders, or other conditions markedly limiting physical activity; 3. participation within the previous 3 months in another systematic intervention likely to substantially influence physical activity or exercise capacity; 4. any condition, as comprehensively judged by the research team, that may affect participant safety, intervention implementation, the quality of physical activity monitoring data, or completion of questionnaires or follow-up, including refusal to wear the monitoring device, refusal to complete follow-up, or evident risk of poor adherence.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Children and Adolescents' Health and Diseases
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310052, China
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