Impact of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) on Respiratory Effort: A Pilot Study in Healthy Adults

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Virtual Reality, Respiratory Effort, Exercise

In brief

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. Respiratory effort will be assessed continuously using esophageal pressure monitoring. Additional measurements will include ventilatory variables, perceived dyspnea, acute state anxiety, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and heart rate variability. The primary aim is to determine whether IVR reduces respiratory effort compared with the control condition. This pilot study is intended to provide physiological evidence on the potential role of IVR as a non-pharmacological strategy to modulate respiratory effort and dyspnea, and to inform future research in clinical populations.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07498816

Run by

Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

People needed

10

Starts

2025-10-01

Expected to finish

2026-12-15

Last updated by the study team

2026-03-27

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 40. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Healthy adults aged 18-40 years
• Ability to perform cycle ergometer exercise testing
• No known history of cardiovascular, pulmonary, neurological, or metabolic disease

You may not qualify if…

• 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

Where it is running

• Escuela de Ciencias de la Salud UC. Departamento de Kinesiología. — Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan, Chile (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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