The VIPA Study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Investigating Virtual Immersive Experiences in the Management of Chronic Widespread Pain – The VIPA Study
IRAS ID
271209
Contact name
Jordan Tsigarides
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Chronic pain is both prevalent and a major cause of disability in the UK. Morphine-like drugs are commonly prescribed and cause a range of debilitating side effects including addiction that can exacerbate suffering. In chronic pain conditions like Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS), these drugs are often ineffective. Non-drug treatments such as graded exercise and psychological therapies are recommended for FMS. However, the availability of these therapies can vary throughout the UK. Innovative and accessible therapies are desperately needed. Virtual reality (VR) has shown promising results as a treatment for acute pain but is understudied in chronic pain. The brain-computer interface (BCI) is a further emerging technology, with promising results in rehabilitation. Our research intends to investigate the acceptability and influence on pain of VR and BCI in a cohort of patients with FMS.
We have developed an immersive VR programme for people with chronic pain. In a series of feasibility experiments, this research intends to determine the optimal characteristics of a VR technology when used in a cohort of people with FMS. We will investigate the most acceptable VR technologies, environments and cognitive tasks, in addition to investigating the use of BCI and VR together. Participants will be asked to rate their pain before, during and after using the technology. We will also gain an insight into their experiences with the use of subjective experience questionnaires. For some of the experiments, we will be using electroencephalography (EEG) to measure the electrical activity of the brain before/during/after using VR. BCI will be used in one experiment, where participants will control elements of the VR environment using their ‘brain-waves’.
This feasibility work will form the basis of a larger clinical trial in the future and is mainly funded by a British Society of Rheumatology (BSR) grant.
REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SW/0050
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion