Can a video game sharpen your mind after cancer or ICU stay?
NCT ID NCT07596940
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This small study tested a virtual reality game called Hometown Bound in 9 adults with mild cognitive impairment after cancer or ICU stay. Participants played the game three times a week for four weeks. Researchers measured memory and thinking skills before and after using standard tests. The goal was to see if the game could help improve cognitive function without medication.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- VR cognitive training game (Hometown Bound)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could point toward a non-drug way to help people with memory and thinking problems after serious illness.
- What could go wrong
- This was a very small early study with only 9 participants and no control group, so results may not apply widely. The game may not improve cognition for everyone.
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
-
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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9 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Jul 2023
- Finished
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Jun 2024
- 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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18 years and older
- 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: Inclusion criteria of our study are as follows: (1) age 18 years or older, (2) English speaking, (3) Completion of all chemo and radiation therapy and surgical procedures, (4) physical, cognitively, and emotionally able to wear the VR game headset or seat with personal computer flat screen, (5) able to provide consent or through a legally authorized representative, (6) available to play the game three times per week for four consecutive weeks, either in the outpatient clinics or in a location near their home, with the support to provide them transportation to either location and (7) own a cell phone by which they can be reached to make arrangement for testing. Race and gender are not conditions for inclusion in this pilot study. Exclusion Criteria: Patients are excluded from our study if any of the following conditions are present: (1) history of mental illnesses and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, or any other form of advanced neurodegenerative or neuro-cognitive diseases, (2) severe psychiatric illness which is not well controlled, (3) suspected or confirmed drug intoxication/overdose; (5) acute neurologic injury such as traumatic brain injury, ischemic or hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident, or undergoing neurosurgery, (6) uncorrected hearing or vision impairment including legal blindness, (7) incarcerated at the time of study enrollment, (8) enrolled in another clinical trial which does not permit co-enrollment, or (9) any medical condition precluding safe use of VR headset and hand control technology or physical use of personal computer flat screen and touch pads.
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Markey Cancer Center, Neuro Oncology Outpatient Clinic
Lexington, Kentucky, 40536-0093, United States
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