Clinical trial NCT03562455: Virtual Reality for Power Wheelchair Training
Official title: Assessing the Effectiveness of Virtual Reality for Power Wheelchair Driving Training
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Spinal Diseases
Keywords: Virtual Reality
Wheelchairs
Lead sponsor: University of Pittsburgh
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2018-06-19
Enrollment: 12
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 14
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Intervention model description: The study will contain two arms. One group will receive virtual reality power wheelchair training, and the other will receive in-person wheelchair training by a therapist.
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: The objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of VRSim 3.0 on power wheelchair (PWC) driving skills and to obtain qualitative feedback from users on the design of the virtual reality (VR) simulator to inform device development.

Detailed description: A virtual reality platform may lead to better training of people with complex disabilities who desire to be power wheelchair users and thus allow them to benefit from living a more active life. A virtual reality training program could significantly impact the lives of people with disabilities by improving function, reducing abandonment of power wheelchairs, and reducing morbidity and mortality and associated costs occurring from power wheelchair accidents. This new virtual reality training program will reflect improvements in accessibility, customization, simulator sickness, ease of use, and will have report generating capabilities as compared to previous virtual reality training platforms. The investigators expect that virtual reality training will be a superior alternative to standard in-person wheelchair training.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Volunteers must be 14 years or older.
* Volunteers must have a disability that prevents them from effectively and independently using a manual wheelchair, power assist wheelchair, or scooter.
* Volunteers must be able to communicate in English, follow simple commands, and give written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Volunteers with active seizures.
* Volunteers who have active pelvic or thigh wounds.
* Volunteers who require a test wheelchair but who exceed the weight capacity of the test wheelchair (\>300 lbs).
* Volunteers who require a test wheelchair but also require specialized seating that cannot be replicated for the training.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Power Wheelchair Driving Skill
timeFrame: This outcome measure will be assessed at each of 4 training sessions, which may take up to one year to complete.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Perception of Virtual Reality Training System
timeFrame: This outcome measure will be assessed at the completion of the study, which may take up to one year to complete.
measure: Simulator Sickness
timeFrame: This outcome measure will be assessed at the beginning and end of 4 training sessions, which may take up to one year to complete.
measure: Perceived Workload of Training
timeFrame: This outcome measure will be assessed at each of 4 training sessions, which may take up to one year to complete.
measure: Power Wheelchair Driving Capacity
timeFrame: This outcome measure will be measured at the beginning and end of the study, which may take up to one year to complete.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Pittsburgh
country: United States
facility: Human Engineering Research Laboratories
state: Pennsylvania
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Pittsburgh
name: Brad E Dicianno, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: