RA Anatomy - VRvST Study

NCT07361913 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: WKR0-2024-0032IRAS Project ID: 356761
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 102
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Primary Objective: Score out of 44 on a validated test of anatomy and sono-anatomy Secondary Objective: Before training

• Handedness (Edinburgh Handedness Inventory)
• Subjective sleepiness (Karolinska scale)
• Motor reaction time (Psychomotor Vigilance test)
• Attention control (Anti-Saccade test)
• Mental rotation (Mental Rotation Task)
• Depression Anxiety, Stress (DASS score)
• Visual Search Task (Divided Attention)
• Knowledge pretraining After training and testing
• Knowledge after training session
• Acceptability: Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)
• Usability: CyberSickness in Virtual Reality Questionnaire (CSQ-VR)
• Immersion: Witmer and Singer Presence Questionnaire
• Subjective workload (NASA - TLX scale)
• Cognitive Demand Battery (CBD)
• Resource use: Calculation of cost differences between learning Modalities Study population: Resident anaesthetists Recruitment Target: 102 Methodology: This is a non-clinical randomised controlled trial of resident anaesthetists undergoing training in regional anaesthesia. Residents will be randomised to one of two groups for each training session day:
• Standard anatomical training (Group A)
• Virtual reality based anatomical training. (Group B) Then followed by another training day session and participants will enter either standard or VR teaching depending on the previous allocation:
• Standard anatomical training (Group B)
• Virtual reality based anatomical training. (Group A) Anatomical knowledge will be tested in both groups using an on-line questionnaire developed by the Chief Investigator. Eligibility criteria: Inclusion criteria:
• Anaesthetists that are residents in a recognised Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) training program
• Anaesthetic training grades (Stage 1 - 3).
• Visual impairment (this does not include wearing glasses/contact lenses)
• History of severe diseases affecting physical motion or balance
• History of any drugs that may affect physical motion or balance within 12 hours of the intervention
• Pregnancy
• Individuals who had consumed alcohol within 24 h of the intervention.
• Resident doctors not in a recognised RCOA training program e.g. Staff grade anaesthetists.

Conditions

Virtual Reality Simulation; Virtual Reality; Education, Medical

Keywords

Virtual reality; sonoanatomy; regional anaesthesia

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Score out of 44 on a validated test of anatomy and sono-anatomy

  Sonoanatomy knowledge using Virtual Reality

  From enrolement to end of study day 2

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Handedness (Edinburgh Handedness Inventory)

  2 - 4 weeks prior to study day 1

• Visual Search Task (Divided Attention)

  2 - 4 weeks prior to study day 1

Study Arms (2)

Standard teaching

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Standard anatomical training

Other: Standard anatomy model teaching

Virtual reality

EXPERIMENTAL

Virtual reality based anatomical training

Other: 3D virtual reality anatomy teaching

Interventions

3D virtual reality anatomy teaching OTHER

Knowledge of regional nerve anatomy among novice anaesthetists using 3D virtual reality is equivalent to standard teaching

Virtual reality

Standard anatomy model teaching OTHER

Knowledge of regional nerve anatomy among novice anaesthetists using standard anatomy model teaching

Standard teaching

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Anaesthetists that are residents in a recognised Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA) training program
• Anaesthetic training grades (Stage 1 - 3).

You may not qualify if:

• Visual impairment (this does not include wearing glasses/contact lenses)
• History of severe diseases affecting physical motion or balance
• History of any drugs that may affect physical motion or balance within 12 hours of the intervention
• Pregnancy
• Individuals who had consumed alcohol within 24 h of the intervention.
• Resident doctors not in a recognised RCOA training program e.g. Staff grade anaesthetists

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust: lead

Related Publications (8)

• Motter BC, Simoni DA. Changes in the functional visual field during search with and without eye movements. Vision Res. 2008 Oct;48(22):2382-93. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2008.07.020. Epub 2008 Sep 14.

  PMID: 18722398 BACKGROUND

• Shepard S, Metzler D. Mental rotation: effects of dimensionality of objects and type of task. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 1988 Feb;14(1):3-11.

  PMID: 2964504 BACKGROUND

• Sereno AB, Holzman PS. Antisaccades and smooth pursuit eye movements in schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry. 1995 Mar 15;37(6):394-401. doi: 10.1016/0006-3223(94)00127-O.

  PMID: 7772648 BACKGROUND

• Thomann J, Baumann CR, Landolt HP, Werth E. Psychomotor vigilance task demonstrates impaired vigilance in disorders with excessive daytime sleepiness. J Clin Sleep Med. 2014 Sep 15;10(9):1019-24. doi: 10.5664/jcsm.4042.

  PMID: 25142762 BACKGROUND

• Zhao J, Xu X, Jiang H, Ding Y. The effectiveness of virtual reality-based technology on anatomy teaching: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. BMC Med Educ. 2020 Apr 25;20(1):127. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-1994-z.

  PMID: 32334594 BACKGROUND

• Chytas D, Piagkou M, Demesticha T, Tsakotos G, Natsis K. Are extended reality technologies (ERTs) more effective than traditional anatomy education methods? Surg Radiol Anat. 2022 Sep;44(9):1215-1218. doi: 10.1007/s00276-022-02998-5. Epub 2022 Aug 11.

  PMID: 35951086 BACKGROUND

• Mathew RK; Immersive Healthcare Collaboration; Mushtaq F. Three principles for the progress of immersive technologies in healthcare training and education. BMJ Simul Technol Enhanc Learn. 2021 May 25;7(5):459-460. doi: 10.1136/bmjstel-2021-000881. eCollection 2021. No abstract available.

  PMID: 35515725 BACKGROUND

• Orser BA, Spadafora SM. Competence-Based Training and Immersion Virtual Reality: Paradigm-Shifting Advances in Medical Education. Anesth Analg. 2022 Aug 1;135(2):220-222. doi: 10.1213/ANE.0000000000006116. Epub 2022 Jul 5. No abstract available.

  PMID: 35839491 BACKGROUND

Related Links

• 2021 Anaesthetics curriculum

Study Officials

• Boyne Bellew

  Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Boyne Bellew

CONTACT

+44(0)2089095560; boyne.bellew@nhs.net

Graeme MCLEOD

CONTACT

+44 (0)1382 740525; boyne.bellew@nhs.net

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Masking Description
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Model Description

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 15, 2026
• First Posted: January 23, 2026
• Study Start: January 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): January 31, 2027
• Last Updated: January 23, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share