Impact of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) on Respiratory Effort: A Pilot Study in Healthy
This pilot randomized crossover study will evaluate the acute effects of immersive virtual reality (IVR) on respiratory effort during submaximal exercise in healthy adults. Dyspnea and increased respiratory effort are influenced not only by mechanical and metabolic factors, but also by emotional and central neural inpu
| Condition(s) | Virtual Reality, Respiratory Effort, Exercise |
|---|---|
| Status | Recruiting |
| Phase | NA |
| Study type | Interventional |
| Summary | This pilot randomized crossover study will evaluate the acute effects of immersive virtual reality (IVR) on respiratory effort during submaximal exercise in healthy adults. Dyspnea and increased respiratory effort are influenced not only by mechanical and metabolic factors, but also by emotional and central neural inputs. IVR has shown potential to reduce anxiety, promote relaxation, and modulate physiological responses, but its direct effect on respiratory effort has not been adequately studied. Healthy adults will complete two experimental exercise sessions: one session with IVR and one session without IVR, in randomized order. In both conditions, participants will perform a 6-minute constant-load cycling test at a submaximal workload individualized from a prior incremental exercise test |
| Who can participate | Inclusion Criteria: * Healthy adults aged 18-40 years * Ability to perform cycle ergometer exercise testing * No known history of cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, or metabolic disease Exclusion Criteria: * Current respiratory symptoms or acute illness * Known cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, or metabolic disease * Use of medications that may affect respiratory or cardiovascular responses to exercise * Contraindications to exercise testing according to standard clinical guidelines * Pregnancy * Inability to tolerate placement of an esophageal balloon catheter * Susceptibility to motion sickness or discomfort with immersive virtual reality devices |
| Ages | 18 Years to 40 Years |
| Sex | All |
| Accepts healthy volunteers | Yes |
| Lead sponsor | Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile |
| Locations | Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile |
| Start date | 2025-10-01 |
| NCT ID | NCT07498816 |
| Official listing | https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07498816 |