Can a 10-Minute VR tour calm patients before awake brain surgery?
NCT ID NCT07830264
First seen Sep 21, 2026 · Last updated Sep 21, 2026
Summary
Awake brain surgery lets doctors map brain areas while the patient is conscious, but the experience can cause serious anxiety. This trial tests whether a 10-minute virtual reality tour of the operating room, the procedure, and its sounds helps patients feel better prepared. Thirty-eight adults scheduled for awake surgery will be randomly assigned to receive the VR tour or standard preparation, and researchers will compare their experiences using questionnaires.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a 10-minute virtual reality immersion that shows patients the operating room, the procedure, and its sounds before awake brain surgery
- What this could lead to
- If it helps, hospitals could offer a simple, low-risk virtual reality tour to prepare patients for awake brain surgery and reduce their anxiety.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small study of 38 people at one group of hospitals, so the results may not apply everywhere. Virtual reality can cause dizziness or nausea in some people, and it may not calm 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
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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 38 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Oct 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 2029
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 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: * Patient aged 18 years or older * Patient with a lesion located in a functional area requiring an awake procedure * Patient capable of completing a self-administered questionnaire * Patient capable of understanding and following study-related information * Patients who have signed an informed consent form * Patients covered by or affiliated with a social security scheme Exclusion Criteria: * Patient with a history of brain surgery * Patient with a medical contraindication to surgery and/or anesthesia * Patient with severe respiratory insufficiency * Patient treated with antipsychotics (neuroleptics or lithium) * Patient with pre-existing, documented degenerative cognitive disorders (dementia, Alzheimer's, etc.) * Patient with active substance abuse * Patient unable to complete a self-administered questionnaire independently (inability to read or speak French, severe cognitive impairment) * Patient with a personal psychiatric history * Patient with known contraindications to the use of a virtual reality headset * Legally protected adults (under guardianship or curatorship, etc.) or individuals deprived of liberty by judicial or administrative decision * Patient unable to provide personal consent or legally protected adult * Pregnant, breastfeeding, or recently delivered woman * Individuals simultaneously participating in another study involving human subjects
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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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Hôpital privé Clairval
Marseille, 13009, France