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Effect of AI-Personalized Virtual Reality on Postoperative Recovery After Major Abdominal Surgery
Sponsor: Alexandria University
Summary
Major abdominal surgery is frequently associated with postoperative pain, anxiety, delayed recovery, and prolonged hospitalization. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an AI-personalized virtual reality (VR) intervention as an adjunct to routine postoperative care in improving recovery outcomes among patients undergoing major abdominal surgery. Participants assigned to the intervention group receive immersive VR sessions delivered through a smartphone-based head-mounted display integrated with an AI-assisted personalization system. The system combines patient-reported pain and anxiety levels, postoperative recovery status, emotional state estimates obtained through facial emotion recognition technology, and previous session feedback to personalize VR content and enhance patient engagement. VR sessions are initiated on the first postoperative day and administered twice daily until hospital discharge. The primary outcome is postoperative quality of recovery measured using the Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) questionnaire. Secondary outcomes include pain intensity, anxiety, recovery milestones, opioid requirements, simulator sickness, and length of hospital stay. The study compares AI-personalized VR plus routine postoperative care with routine postoperative care alone. Findings from this trial will help determine whether AI-enhanced VR is a feasible, safe, and effective strategy for improving postoperative recovery and reducing hospital stay following major abdominal surgery.
Official title: Effect of Adaptive AI-based Virtual Reality on Quality of Recovery and Hospital Stay After Major Abdominal Surgery
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 60 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
84
Start Date
2026-03-28
Completion Date
2026-06-30
Last Updated
2026-08-11
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Immersive Virtual Reality (VR)
Session Protocol: * Preoperative session: One session of 15 minutes on the evening before surgery for familiarization with the VR equipment and content. * Postoperative sessions: daily on Postoperative Days 1, 2, and 3, each session lasting 15 to 20 minutes. * Total VR exposure: approximately 90 to 120 minutes per patient. VR Content: * Nature immersion simulations * Guided relaxation environments * Breathing exercises * Mindfulness-based stress reduction modules Safety Measures: * VR-related adverse effects monitored after each session using an adapted Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ). * Sessions are discontinued immediately if the patient reports Moderate or Severe symptoms. * All VR equipment is disinfected between uses according to hospital infection control protocols.
Standard Perioperative Care and Enhanced Recovery Protocol
Preoperative Phase: * Patient education and counseling regarding the surgical procedure and postoperative recovery expectations. * Administration of carbohydrate-rich drinks before surgery to reduce metabolic stress. Intraoperative Phase: * Propofol-based total intravenous anaesthesia or balanced anaesthesia. * Opioid-sparing multimodal analgesia. * Optimized intraoperative fluid management. * Standardized neuromuscular blockade reversal. * Intraoperative opioid dosing recorded for all patients. Postoperative Phase: * Standardized multimodal pharmacological pain management. * Early mobilization encouraged within 6 hours after surgery. * Early oral nutrition initiated as soon as clinically appropriate. * Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) available if indicated. No Virtual Reality sessions or any form of distraction therapy will be provided to this group.
Locations (1)
Alexandria University Hospital, Faculty of Nursing
Alexandria, Alexandria Governorate, Egypt