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What you should know:
– Applied VRa pioneer of immersive therapies (ITx) that offers a new medical approach based on virtual reality, today announced the results of a secondary analysis of a large randomized controlled trial (RCT) that evaluated whether sociodemographic factors affected the Clinical effectiveness of receiving virtual reality (VR) therapy that treats chronic low back pain (cLBP) at home.
– Researchers sought to determine whether there were differences between key participant cohorts in terms of patient-reported clinical effectiveness, engagement in the treatment program, and self-reported rating of VR device use. the patients.
RelieVRx: An Advance in Pain Management Across Diverse Demographics
The study published in the Journal of Medical Extended Reality found that AppliedVR's FDA-cleared RelieVRx device produced clinically effective results across diverse demographics, including age, gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status. Notably, engagement in therapeutic programs remained consistent across these sociodemographic categories, with the exception of age, where older adults (65 years and older) demonstrated greater engagement than their younger counterparts. RelieVRx usability scores were consistently high (A+), with only minor variations observed between different racial/ethnic groups.
Established inequities in chronic pain care highlight the potential of immersive therapies like RelieVRx to overcome common barriers to care. By providing a clinically validated intervention that patients can self-administer at home without the need for connectivity or complicated setups, healthcare providers can reduce reliance on pharmacological treatments and surgical interventions. This scalable solution effectively addresses the diverse needs of patient populations.
Previous research published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health also supports the effectiveness of RelieVRx, demonstrating significant reductions in pain intensity and pain interference in adults with chronic low back pain (cLBP). Participants who completed the program experienced an average reduction of 2.0 points in pain intensity and 2.3 points in pain interference on a numeric rating scale ranging from zero to ten. These findings are based on the largest randomized controlled trial (RCT) of its kind, involving more than 1,000 participants from a demographically diverse sample.
Over the past year, RelieVRx has grown in popularity and adoption. It received a unique code and final price determination from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Additionally, it has been included in the Department of Veterans Affairs' Federal Procurement Program (FSS), the Defense Logistics Agency's Electronic Medical Supply Chain Catalog (ECAT), and the Department of Defense Distribution and Pricing Agreement (DAPA), facilitating streamlined procurement. government customers. AppliedVR also secured an expanded contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, expanding access to the RelieVRx program as a covered treatment to more veterans in the VA system.
“It is extremely notable that clinical effectiveness, therapeutic program engagement, and usability are generally consistent across all sociodemographic data, as this alleviates questions regarding how underrepresented populations can benefit from the RelieVRx program ” said AppliedVR's Chief Scientific Advisor, Dr. Beth Darnall. “Pain care is notoriously difficult to access, with some areas having no pain specialists to serve patients. This study both highlights the importance of addressing health care disparities and should compel the industry to advocate for and invest in more scalable and equitable pain care approaches.