ESTRO 2025 - Abstract Book

S4172

RTT - Patient experience and quality of life

ESTRO 2025

1883

Mini-Oral Virtual reality distraction therapy in paediatric proton beam and photon therapy treatment Penelope Hart-Spencer, Shermaine Pan, Therese Smith, Laura Lee, Charlotte Cooper, Ed Smith Proton Beam Therapy, The Christie NHS Trust, Manchester, United Kingdom Purpose/Objective: The pre-treatment pathway for paediatric radiotherapy includes procedures that can be painful and distressing. This causes increased anxiety in some children and teenagers. There is growing evidence which suggests the use of virtual reality distraction therapy during clinical procedures, alleviates stress and anxiety for children and teenagers. We present a first UK prospective study evaluating the use of virtual reality in improving the experience and reducing anxiety in patients receiving proton or photon therapy. Material/Methods: Children and young people aged between 7 and 16 years of age undergoing proton/photon treatment are invited to participate in the study. All patients with visual impairment are excluded from the study. The virtual reality headset is worn during their clinical procedures and treatment - if not using an immobilisation mask. The virtual reality kit used is a medically approved device which is safe to use within a clinical environment. All health play specialists using the kit are trained to facilitate virtual reality distraction. Impact and benefit of the technology is quantitatively measured by assessing the patient's pre and post procedural levels of anxiety, using a child friendly and psychologist approved Likert scale (Figure 1). Qualitative feedback on the experience with virtual reality distraction therapy are collected from users, which will be presented. Figure 1

Results: Between April 2024 – end of October 2024, the virtual reality distraction therapy has been used 11 times during clinical procedures including cannulation, dressing changes and subcutaneous injections. It has been used in 3 times during pre-treatment CT planning scans and 20 times during proton/photon treatment. The scores from the pre and post VR usage assessments were compared to identify if there has been a reduction in the level of anxiety experienced. The results have demonstrated a 47% reduction in anxiety. We have also gained very positive qualitative data suggesting that VR has been beneficial in giving children a positive experience during their treatment pathways. One patient who experienced frustration and low mood during his proton treatment – causing him to demand to discontinue his treatment, benefitted greatly from the virtual reality technology and was able to complete his treatment with daily use of the headset.