MedTrace Logo

Gamifying Hand Therapy: Development of a Mixed Reality Rhythm Game to Reduce Pain and Improve Motivation

NCT07668115 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2026-07-29

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The hand is one of the most functional and frequently injured parts of the body. Without proper recovery, patients can face significant impairments performing everyday tasks. Hand therapy is the cornerstone of hand rehabilitation, but the painful, repetitive, and monotonous nature of prescribed exercises leads to poor patient motivation and adherence, ultimately compromising long-term recovery outcomes.

New technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) have emerged as interactive and engaging modalities for rehabilitation, and can even reduce pain by distracting patients during exercises. However, mixed reality (MR), which is a new modality combining VR and AR has not been well studied for its ability to reduce pain in hand rehabilitation. Therefore, we developed HoloRehab, a mixed reality video game for hand rehabilitation, built for the Microsoft HoloLens 2 headset. This device allow users to see and interact with realistic 3D holograms projected into their physical environment.

This pilot study will evaluate whether using HoloRehab can reduce discomfort and improve the exercise experience compared to traditional self-guided hand therapy exercises. After development of a prototyped game, we will run a pilot study involving 20 healthy participants assigned to either the mixed reality intervention or a traditional exercise group. Outcomes will include measures of discomfort, fatigue, and user experience.

Findings from this study will inform further development of the HoloRehab system.

Conditions

  • Analgesia Through Mixed Reality

Interventions

OTHER

Cold pressor test

Participants submerge their dominant hand in a cold-water bath while performing hand exercises with their non-dominant hand.

OTHER

Exercise under resistance

Participants perform hand exercises against finger extension resistance bands attached to the non-dominant hand.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Western University

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-06-08
Primary Completion
2026-07-10
Completion
2026-07-24

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07668115 on ClinicalTrials.gov