Boston-based Massachusetts General Hospital is partnering with virtual reality therapeutics company Rocket VR Health on an 80-patient trial that will study the effect VR has on the quality of life for blood cancer patients.
The patients — who are undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation — will receive headsets designed to reduce stress during the four-week procedure.
Mass General and Rocket VR Health first partnered in 2021 to co-develop the virtual reality tool, according to a March 7 Rocket VR Health news release.
"Up until now, VR technology has been expensive, bulky, difficult to use and operationalized within a healthcare environment. Today, we can deliver therapeutic VR interventions on lightweight, affordable and ergonomic headsets with therapeutic experiences that are more engaging than what has been possible in the past," Rocket VR co-founder and CEO Sid Desai said in the release. "This study will guide us towards validating the efficacy of our digital therapeutic in our effort to build the go-to distress management solution for hospitalized patients."