Educational ProblemsEmpathyNCT06351397
Immersive Mixed Reality Simulation to Evoke Empathy
A study testing Mixed Reality (MR) in people with Educational Problems, run by Stanford University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This is a quantifiable study evaluating the ability of a mixed reality (MR), immersive simulation experience to evoke empathy in anesthesiology trainees. Quantitative methodologies will be employed using standardized questionnaires including the The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy for Health Professions Students… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 99 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Educational Problems
- What is being tested?
- Mixed Reality (MR)
- Type of treatment
- Injection or infusion, Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 81 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 24 Jan 2025to 8 Oct 2025
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 99 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Trainees or personnel working and/or volunteering at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford / Stanford Health Care facilities
- 18 years and older
Who cannot join
- a history of severe motion sickness
- currently have nausea
- have a history of seizures
- are uncomfortable wearing a ~7 pound weighted vest.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
Palo Alto, California, 94303
About this study
This is a quantifiable study evaluating the ability of a mixed reality (MR), immersive simulation experience to evoke empathy in anesthesiology trainees. Quantitative methodologies will be employed using standardized questionnaires including the The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy for Health Professions Students, (HP-version). Trainees will assess their preliminary, baseline empathy using the Jefferson Scale and after the simulation and debrief, will reassess empathy scores, once again using the Jefferson Scale. A satisfaction survey to assess simulated patient embodiment as a valuable exercise and contributor to empathy education curriculum.
- Conditions
- Educational Problems
- Being tested
- Mixed Reality (MR), Control
- Keywords
- Virtual Reality
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Mixed Reality (MR)Behavioural
Mixed Reality simulation of medical crisis scenarios.
MR headset - a device that the participants will wear over their head and eyes and will add holographic elements to a live view of workplace training scenario
ControlBehavioural
Tradition simulation of medical crisis scenarios.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed Reality Group | Experimental | In the MR group, the simulation instructor will explain the scope of the simulation embodiment experience and equip a weighted vest on the participant as they are asked to lay on a hospital patient gurney, seated upright. The participant, who is wearing a weighted vest to simulate an anterior mediastinal mass, will be asked to be seated upright and will view various holograms including vitals monitors, hear hospital related sounds via the headset, and also see additional holographic assets including intravenous polls and a defibrillator as well as experience heat (simulating a fever) from heat lamps. The simulation instructor will play the role of a physician who is using good communication skills based on the Calgary-Cambridge Guide to review a scripted consent for a high risk biopsy under sedation that may require life saving interventions such as extracorporeal membranous oxygenation (ECMO). Receives: Behavioral: Mixed Reality (MR) |
| Control | Active comparator | In the control group, there will be no headset, no heat lamps, and no weighted vest and the participant will rely on their imagination to embody the teenager while lying in the simulation room bed while being consented for the same procedure as the MR group. Receives: Behavioral: Control |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Changes in self-reported empathy from before and after the simulation
Measured with Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy for physicians and other practicing health professionals (HP-Version). The survey contains 20 item with 7-point scale, 1 indicates strongly disagree and 7 indicates strongly agree (a higher number on the scale indicates more agreement).
Measured: baseline, immediately after the intervention
Secondary outcomes (3)
Satisfaction of Design Features of the Simulation
Measured by Simulation Design Scale. The simulation design scale consists of 20 items in total. In the first stage, in order to evaluate whether the items used in the simulation method were given in the best way for the participant, they were expressed as strongly disagree, disagree, undecided, agree, strongly agree. The survey contains 20 item with 5-point scale, 1 indicates strongly disagree and 5 indicates strongly agree (a higher number on the scale indicates more agreement).
In the second stage, there are statements that will determine the level of importance of the scale items for the participant, not important, partially important, undecided, important, very important. The survey contains 20 item with 5-point scale, 1 indicates not important and 5 indicates very important (a higher number on the scale indicates more important).
In the evaluation phase, the scale score is calculated by dividing the total and the total of the sub-dimensions by the number of items.
Measured: immediately after the intervention
Evaluation of the CHARM system's usability
Measured by System Usability Scale (SUS). The scale has 10 items. Scores ranges from 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree)
Measured: immediately after simulation
Evaluation of the CHARM system's ergonomics
Measured by the ISO Ergonomic scale. The scale has 6 items. Scores ranges from 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree)
Measured: immediately after simulation
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted8 Apr 2024
- Study start24 Jan 2025
- Primary completion8 Oct 2025
- Study completion8 Oct 2025
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Educational ProblemsStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Stanford UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 81 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Stanford University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Thomas Caruso, Stanford University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06351397
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 75021
- Acronym
- Empathy
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 1 Apr 2024
- Last updated
- 21 Jan 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 21 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Immersive Mixed Reality Simulation to Evoke Empathy
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT06351397
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Empathy / 75021
- Conditions
- Educational Problems
- Keywords
- Virtual Reality
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 81 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Stanford UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 24 Jan 2025 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 8 Oct 2025 (actual)
- Study completion
- 8 Oct 2025 (actual)
- First posted
- 8 Apr 2024 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This is a quantifiable study evaluating the ability of a mixed reality (MR), immersive simulation experience to evoke empathy in anesthesiology trainees. Quantitative methodologies will be employed using standardized questionnaires including the The Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy for Health Professions Students, (HP-version). Trainees will assess their preliminary, baseline empathy using the Jefferson Scale and after the simulation and debrief, will reassess empathy scores, once again using the Jefferson Scale. A satisfaction survey to assess simulated patient embodiment as a valuable exercise and contributor to empathy education curriculum.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed Reality Group | Experimental | Behavioral: Mixed Reality (MR)In the MR group, the simulation instructor will explain the scope of the simulation embodiment experience and equip a weighted vest on the participant as they are asked to lay on a hospital patient gurney, seated upright. The participant, who is wearing a weighted vest to simulate an anterior mediastinal mass, will be asked to be seated upright and will view various holograms including vitals monitors, hear hospital related sounds via the headset, and also see additional holographic assets including intravenous polls and a defibrillator as well as experience heat (simulating a fever) from heat lamps. The simulation instructor will play the role of a physician who is using good communication skills based on the Calgary-Cambridge Guide to review a scripted consent for a high risk biopsy under sedation that may require life saving interventions such as extracorporeal membranous oxygenation (ECMO). |
| Control | Active comparator | Behavioral: ControlIn the control group, there will be no headset, no heat lamps, and no weighted vest and the participant will rely on their imagination to embody the teenager while lying in the simulation room bed while being consented for the same procedure as the MR group. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 99 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Trainees or personnel working and/or volunteering at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford / Stanford Health Care facilities
- 18 years and older
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- a history of severe motion sickness
- currently have nausea
- have a history of seizures
- are uncomfortable wearing a ~7 pound weighted vest.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Mixed Reality (MR)Mixed Reality simulation of medical crisis scenarios. MR headset - a device that the participants will wear over their head and eyes and will add holographic elements to a live view of workplace training scenario | Behavioural | Mixed Reality Group |
| ControlTradition simulation of medical crisis scenarios. | Behavioural | Control |
Primary outcome
Changes in self-reported empathy from before and after the simulation
Time frame: baseline, immediately after the intervention
Measured with Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy for physicians and other practicing health professionals (HP-Version). The survey contains 20 item with 7-point scale, 1 indicates strongly disagree and 7 indicates strongly agree (a higher number on the scale indicates more agreement).
3 secondary outcomes
Satisfaction of Design Features of the Simulation
Time frame: immediately after the intervention
Evaluation of the CHARM system's usability
Time frame: immediately after simulation
Evaluation of the CHARM system's ergonomics
Time frame: immediately after simulation
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 21 Jan 2026.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Mixed Reality (MR) in people with Educational Problems, run by Stanford University at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 21 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Changes in self-reported empathy from before and after the simulation (time frame: baseline, immediately after the intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 21 Jan 2026.