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Can VR goggles tame sickle cell pain? new trial aims to find out

NCT ID NCT03353584

Symptom relief Sponsor: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tests whether using virtual reality (VR) goggles during a sickle cell pain crisis can help children and young adults feel less pain. Participants will either get standard pain treatment alone or standard treatment plus a calming VR underwater experience. Researchers will compare pain scores and opioid use between the two groups to see if VR provides extra relief.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Virtual reality therapy (KindVR Aqua software)
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer a drug-free way to ease pain during sickle cell crises, reducing reliance on opioids.
What could go wrong
This is a small, early-phase trial (76 participants) testing a short-term effect. The benefit may be small or not last, and VR may not work 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

About 76 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Feb 2018

Expected to finish

Nov 2026

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

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

6 to 25 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

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

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * Participant must have sickle cell disease (any genotype), documented in the St. Jude medical record. * Participant must be seeking care for acute VOC pain at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. * Participant age must be ≥ 6 years and ≤ 25 years. * English speaking Exclusion Criteria: * Prior randomization in this study. * Patients are currently enrolled on another pain management interventional trial for the presenting pain crisis. * Mild pain (score \<4), or pain for which treatment with opioid is not indicated. * Pain in combination with other clinical symptoms that require additional interventions, including fever with focus, acute chest syndrome, acute injury, or splenic sequestration. * Developmental or psychiatric disorders like autism, claustrophobia or other disabilities like vision and hearing defects etc. that preclude the use of a head mounted device. * Inability or unwillingness of research participant or legal guardian/ representative to give written informed consent.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Pain sickle cell disease Vaso-Occlusive Crises

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Sickle cell disease Vaso-occlusive crisis

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The study's own enquiry address

    This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .

  2. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  3. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  4. 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

Study contacts

  • Contact

    Email: •••••@•••••

Locations

  • Methodist Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center

    COMPLETED

    Memphis, Tennessee, 38104, United States

  • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

    RECRUITING

    Memphis, Tennessee, 38105, United States

    Contact Email: •••••@•••••

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