Video games as medicine: VR rehab trial aims to boost recovery in young transplant patients

NCT ID NCT07653880

Disease control Sponsor: Istinye University Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026

Summary

This study tests whether adding virtual reality video games to standard breathing and exercise therapy helps children aged 5 to 18 recover better after a stem cell transplant. Participants do 24 supervised sessions over 8 weeks, either with standard rehab alone or standard rehab plus VR games using a Nintendo Wii and breathing software. Researchers measure changes in lung function, muscle strength, balance, and fitness to see if the game-based approach leads to greater improvements.

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-assisted video game-based exercise training (Nintendo Wii Fit U and Breathing Labs games) plus conventional pulmonary rehabilitation
What this could lead to: If it works, this approach could make post-transplant rehab more engaging and effective for children, potentially speeding recovery of lung function and physical fitness.
What could go wrong: This is a small, early-phase trial with only 38 participants, so results may not apply to all children. The games and equipment may not be widely available, and the added benefit over standard rehab alone is uncertain.

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

38 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Jan 2025

Finished

Sep 2025

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

5 to 18 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: * Currently receiving care in a pediatric bone marrow transplantation unit (post-HSCT). * Age between 5 and 18 years (inclusive). * Able to perform pursed-lip breathing with expiration ≥ 3 seconds. * Ambulatory and able to cooperate with verbal instructions. * Clinically stable as confirmed by the treating physician at the time of enrollment. * No history of orthopedic, neurological, or cardiac disease. Exclusion Criteria: * Facial palsy. * Severe visual impairment or visual field defects. * Aphasia. * History of abdominal or thoracic surgery. * During study: medically unstable status; new diagnosis of cutaneous graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) requiring high-dose steroid therapy; respiratory-tract or systemic infection requiring isolation; new psychiatric illness with poor prognosis; relocation precluding follow-up; withdrawal of consent.

Get updates

Get notified about this study

Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Cancer are added.

Vår säkerhetsrekommendation!

Genom att skicka in godkänner du våra Användarvillkor

Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

cancer neoplasm

As listed by the trial registrant

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

Cancer Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) Pediatric physiotherapy Physiotherapy and rehabilitation Pulmonary rehabilitation

Video games as medicine: VR rehab trial aims to boost recovery in young transplant patients

What the study statuses mean