VR-Assisted Exercise for Symptom Management and Rehabilitation in Interstitial Lung Disease

NCT07628725 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 5014
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 32
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This project aims to create and improve a VR-based breathing exercise program for patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). It involves three phases: (1) developing an interactive VR application with guided breathing exercises and real-time biofeedback tailored for ILD patients, (2) testing its feasibility by evaluating usability and acceptability, and (3) refining the intervention based on feedback from the feasibility study.

Conditions

Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)

Keywords

Interstitial Lung Disease; Telerehabilitation; VR-based

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (5)

• Change in Dyspnea

  The Medical Research Council scale is a five-point grading system (1 to 5) used to classify the degree of activity limitation caused by dyspnea, wherein a grade 1 represents the lowest level of breathlessness and a grade 5 represents the highest level of breathlessness and activity limitation.

  4 weeks

• Fatigue Severity Scale

  Measures the severity of fatigue and its effects on a person's activities and lifestyle in patients with a variety of disorders using a 9-item questionnaire that measures how fatigue affects daily activities. Each item is rated on a 7-point scale wherein a score of 1 means strongly disagree, while a score of 7 means strongly agree. This means that a lower scores indicate less fatigue and a higher scores indicate more severe fatigue.

  4 weeks

• 1-minute sit-to-stand

  The 1-Minute Sit-to-Stand Test is used to evaluate exercise tolerance in patients with chronic respiratory diseases. It measures lower-limb strength, endurance, and cardiorespiratory fitness by counting the repetitions of sit-to-stand completed within 60 seconds.

  4 weeks

• Change in Health Related Quality of Life

  Assessed using the St George's Respiratory Questionnaire which is a standardized questionnaire for measuring impaired health and perceived well-being ("quality of life") in airways disease. Scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more limitations.

  4 weeks

• 6-minute walk test

  The 6-minute walk test assesses the sub-maximal level of functional capacity by measuring the distance that the patient can walk quickly on a flat, hard surface in a period of 6 minutes.

  4 weeks

Study Arms (2)

VR-based Breathing Exercise

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in the intervention group will perform VR-guided breathing exercises at home for approximately 10 minutes per day, five days a week, for four weeks. These exercises include DDBE, box breathing, and arm training. The training will gradually transition from supervised laboratory sessions to independent home use to ensure the safe and proper use of the VR system and wearable devices.

Other: VR-based

Breathing Exercises using Printed Materials

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will perform breathing exercises and arm exercises at home using a printed instructional flyer. The frequency and duration of exercises will match the VR intervention group at approximately 10 minutes per day, five days per week, over 4 weeks.

Other: Flyer

Interventions

Flyer OTHER

Participants will engage in slow, controlled diaphragmatic breathing exercises, box breathing, and arm exercises at home using printed instructions as guide.

Breathing Exercises using Printed Materials

VR-based OTHER

Participants will engage in guided breathing exercises and arm exercises delivered through an immersive VR application. The intervention will be performed while seated comfortably and will follow a progressive training schedule consisting of supervised laboratory sessions and independent home-based sessions.

VR-based Breathing Exercise

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• ≥ 18 years old
• able to understand English
• diagnosed with Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD)

You may not qualify if:

• experiencing acute exacerbation of their condition
• being unable to provide informed consent
• being unable to participate in a VR-based intervention

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Manitoba: lead
• Canadian Lung Association: collaborator

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Lung Diseases, Interstitial

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Lung Diseases; Respiratory Tract Diseases

Study Officials

• Diana C. Sanchez-Ramirez

  University of Manitoba

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Diana C. Sanchez-Ramirez, PhD

CONTACT

120-448-01346; diana.sanchez-ramirez@umanitoba.ca

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor

Model Details: This study is a randomized crossover factorial trial involving 32 participants with ILDs. All participants will complete both the VR breathing exercise intervention and the breathing exercise program using a printed material, but in a randomized order separated by a 2-week washout period to minimize carryover effects.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 27, 2026
• First Posted: June 5, 2026
• Study Start: June 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 15, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 15, 2026
• Last Updated: June 5, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05