Gonzalez Brian D, Choo Sylvia, Janssen Joseph J, Hazelton Jeff, Latifi Kujtim, Leach Corinne R, Bailey Shannon, Jim Heather S L, Oswald Laura B, Woolverton Morgan, Murphy Martin, Schilowitz Edward L, Frakes Jessica M, Robinson Edmondo J, Hoffe Sarah
Department of Health Outcomes and Behavior, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL.
Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.
Adv Radiat Oncol. 2024 Feb 26;9(6):101477. doi: 10.1016/j.adro.2024.101477. eCollection 2024 Jun.
Patients receiving respiratory gated magnetic resonance imaging-guided radiation therapy (MRIgRT) for abdominal targets must hold their breath for ≥25 seconds at a time. Virtual reality (VR) has shown promise for improving patient education and experience for diagnostic MRI scan acquisition. We aimed to develop and pilot-test the first VR app to educate, train, and reduce anxiety and discomfort in patients preparing to receive MRIgRT.
A multidisciplinary team iteratively developed a new VR app with patient input. The app begins with minigames to help orient patients to using the VR device and to train patients on breath-holding. Next, app users are introduced to the MRI linear accelerator vault and practice breath-holding during MRIgRT. In this quality improvement project, clinic personnel and MRIgRT-eligible patients with pancreatic cancer tested the VR app for feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy for training patients on using breath-holding during MRIgRT.
The new VR app experience was tested by 19 patients and 67 clinic personnel. The experience was completed on average in 18.6 minutes (SD = 5.4) by patients and in 14.9 (SD = 3.5) minutes by clinic personnel. Patients reported the app was "extremely helpful" (58%) or "very helpful" (32%) for learning breath-holding used in MRIgRT and "extremely helpful" (28%) or "very helpful (50%) for reducing anxiety. Patients and clinic personnel also provided qualitative feedback on improving future versions of the VR app.
The VR app was feasible and acceptable for training patients on breath-holding for MRIgRT. Patients eligible for MRIgRT for pancreatic cancer and clinic personnel reported on future improvements to the app to enhance its usability and efficacy.
接受腹部靶区呼吸门控磁共振成像引导放射治疗（MRIgRT）的患者每次必须屏气≥25秒。虚拟现实（VR）已显示出在改善患者接受诊断性MRI扫描时的教育和体验方面的前景。我们旨在开发并进行首次VR应用程序的试点测试，以对准备接受MRIgRT的患者进行教育、培训并减轻其焦虑和不适。
一个多学科团队在患者的参与下迭代开发了一款新的VR应用程序。该应用程序以小游戏开始，帮助患者熟悉VR设备的使用并训练患者屏气。接下来，应用程序用户会被介绍到MRI直线加速器治疗室，并在MRIgRT期间练习屏气。在这个质量改进项目中，临床工作人员和符合MRIgRT条件的胰腺癌患者测试了该VR应用程序在训练患者在MRIgRT期间使用屏气方面的可行性、可接受性和潜在效果。
19名患者和67名临床工作人员对新的VR应用程序体验进行了测试。患者平均用时18.6分钟（标准差=5.4）完成体验，临床工作人员平均用时14.9分钟（标准差=3.5）。患者报告该应用程序对于学习MRIgRT中使用的屏气“极其有帮助”（58%）或“非常有帮助”（32%），对于减轻焦虑“极其有帮助”（28%）或“非常有帮助”（50%）。患者和临床工作人员还对改进VR应用程序的未来版本提供了定性反馈。
该VR应用程序在训练患者进行MRIgRT屏气方面是可行且可接受的。符合胰腺癌MRIgRT条件的患者和临床工作人员报告了该应用程序未来的改进方向，以提高其可用性和效果。
