Virtual reality headsets could ease breathing during workouts
NCT ID NCT07498816
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This small study tests whether using immersive virtual reality (IVR) can reduce the effort it takes to breathe while exercising. Ten healthy adults will cycle with and without a VR headset, and their breathing effort will be measured with a thin tube in the esophagus. The goal is to see if VR can be a non-drug way to help people breathe easier, which could later be studied in people with lung or heart conditions.
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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 10 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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Dec 2026
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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18 to 40 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy adults aged 18-40 years * Ability to perform cycle ergometer exercise testing * No known history of cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, or metabolic disease Exclusion Criteria: * Current respiratory symptoms or acute illness * Known cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, or metabolic disease * Use of medications that may affect respiratory or cardiovascular responses to exercise * Contraindications to exercise testing according to standard clinical guidelines * Pregnancy * Inability to tolerate placement of an esophageal balloon catheter * Susceptibility to motion sickness or discomfort with immersive virtual reality devices
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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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Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud UC. Departamento de Kinesiología.
RECRUITINGSantiago, Santiago Metropolitan, 6904411, Chile
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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