Smartphone virtual reality to ease pain during pediatric burn dressing changes at home
Official title: A Randomized Clinical Trial of Smartphone Virtual Reality for Pain Management During Burn Care Transition
Funded at Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp · NIH-11144469 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a smartphone virtual reality app to help children have less pain and need fewer opioid pills during at-home burn dressing changes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, United States) |
| Project start | September 30, 2022 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $368,426 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HS029183-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11144469 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Children and adolescents with burn wounds who require repeated at-home dressing changes and who can use a smartphone would be ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
Children who do not need home dressing changes, cannot tolerate VR (severe motion sickness or certain cognitive impairments), or lack access to a compatible smartphone may not benefit from this intervention.
What this research studies
If your child joins, they would be randomly assigned to use a smartphone VR Pain Alleviation Tool (VR-PAT) or usual care during repeated at-home burn dressing changes. Families will use the VR app at home and report pain levels and opioid use over the dressing-change period, while researchers track safety and how easy the tool is to use. The team will also interview families to learn what helps or gets in the way of using the VR tool at home. Study visits and enrollment are coordinated through Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus with most treatment taking place at home.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the VR tool could make at-home dressing changes less painful for children and reduce the need for opioid pain medicines.
How similar studies have gone: Virtual reality has reduced burn-related pain in prior trials and the investigators previously reported about a 47% pain reduction with their VR-PAT in outpatient clinic use, but smartphone VR for the at-home transition is less tested.
Where this research is happening
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Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp
Columbus, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Xiang, Henry — Research Inst Nationwide Children's Hosp
- Study coordinator: Xiang, Henry
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A smartphone-based virtual reality tool called VR-PAT is being tested to help children feel less pain and use fewer opioid medicines when they shift from hospital care to home burn dressing changes.
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.