VR headsets under scrutiny: could they trigger seizures?
NCT ID NCT07451093
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study will test whether using virtual reality headsets raises the risk of seizures in adolescents and adults with epilepsy. Forty participants will wear a VR headset while their brain activity is recorded with EEG, comparing periods with the display off, on, and with hand controls. The goal is to see if interactive VR is more likely to trigger abnormal brain signals than passive viewing.
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 Headset
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide safety guidelines for people with epilepsy using virtual reality.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage study with only 40 participants. It measures brain activity, not actual seizures, so real-world risk may differ.
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 40 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Dec 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Jun 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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13 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.
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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: * subjects with known or suspected diagnosis of epilepsy with interictal epileptiform discharges seen during current or prior EEG recording * Age greater than or equal to 13 years Exclusion Criteria: * Age less than 13 years (infants, children) * Pregnancy * Incarceration * Moderate-severe cognitive impairment
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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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Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center
Lebanon, New Hampshire, 03756, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Reading the Brain's signals to predict who benefits from deep brain stimulation
- Can a Comfort-Focused education program improve life with epilepsy?
- Can video games rewire young brains after injury?
- High-Fat Diet's effect on epilepsy: scientists track brain signals
- Epilepsy drug candidate put to the test in healthy volunteers