Study investigating VR treatment for chronic pain
pharmafile | May 18, 2022 | News story | Research and Development |
AppliedVR and Kernel have partnered for a randomised study comparing the effect of AppliedVR’s FDA-authorised, VR-based program, RelieVRx, versus a control on the brains of patients with chronic pain.
The control will consist of a VR program not designed to treat pain, and the study will enrol 20 patients with chronic lower back pain.
Kernal is a non-invasive neuroimaging provider. The company’s FlowVR device is a compact TD-fNIRS brain measurement headset customised for use in VR, to investigate brain biomarkers related to RelieVRx. AppliedVR is a pioneer in immersive digital therapeutics.
“Kernel Flow allows for a safe, natural, and comfortable brain-imaging experience. Our partnership with AppliedVR is an exciting opportunity to use Kernel Flow’s revolutionary technology to illuminate and unlock insight on specific biomarkers related to chronic pain, one of the most debilitating and costly medical conditions in our healthcare system. These biomarker-based insights may someday be used to evaluate the effectiveness of treatments and personalize them to individuals,” said Kernel CEO and founder Bryan Johnson.
RelieVRx is the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorised virtual reality-based treatment for chronic lower back pain, pending FDA De Novo approval as a Class II medical device.
“AppliedVR is committed to being the most evidence-based immersive therapeutics provider in the world, which means we are constantly looking for smarter, more in-depth ways to not only demonstrate that the RelieVRx system delivers durable pain relief, but also to understand how it works on the brain,” said Josh Sackman, cofounder and president of AppliedVR. “As an industry leader, Kernel’s FlowVR technology was the right partner for us to begin to better understand how VR affects the brain’s responses to pain, and we look forward to continuing our research.”
Kernel Flow will measure the brain-activity changes before, during, and after the use of RelieVRx, compared to control. The study will examine the effect of the AppliedVR software modules and the 8-week training programme through the measurement of heart rate, respiration rate, and brain activity patterns.
Ana Ovey
