Recruiting

VR & ECT

Sponsor:

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Code:

NCT07350278

Conditions

Education, Medical, Undergraduate

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Virtual Reality Simulation

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Virtual Reality electroconvulsive therapy simulator

Mannequin Simulator

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this prospective, open-label non-inferiority randomized controlled trial is to investigate if Virtual Reality (VR) based simulation are an effective training tool for novice medical trainees. The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Is the VR-based electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) training program non-inferior to traditional, mannequin-based ECT training programs in fostering ECT skill acquisition?
  • What are the changes in confidence in administering ECT, as well as number of training repetitions completed in the VR and mannequin training groups?
  • What is the ease of use of the VR-based ECT training program? Researchers will compare the VR-based ECT training program to a mannequin-based ECT training program to see if the VR-based ECT training program is comparable to traditional methods at training for ECT.

Participants will:

  • Complete an ECT skills assessment at the beginning and end of the study session.
  • Watch a 30-minute didactic ECT lecture video.
  • Be randomized to either the VR ECT simulation group or the mannequin ECT simulation group and be given 30 minutes to practice ECT administration with their assigned education tool.

Conditions

Education, Medical, Undergraduate

Electroconvulsive Therapy

Virtual Reality Simulation

Study ID

NCT07350278

Start date

Jan 18, 2026

Status verified date

Aug, 2026

Completion date

Mar 1, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 0+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Is a medical student at the University of Toronto
  • Has not received formal ECT training before

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Visual or hearing impairment that does not allow the participant to use VR.
  • History of significant motion sickness.

Study Design

Enrollment

78 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Health Services Research

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: VR Simulator Group

Participants randomized to this group will practice electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) administration using a virtual reality (VR) ECT simulator.

active comparator: Mannequin Simulator Group

Participants randomized to this group will practice electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) administration using a mannequin ECT simulator.

Interventions

Virtual Reality electroconvulsive therapy simulator

A virtual reality (VR)-based simulator for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) practice. Users will go through tutorials on how to use the VR equipment and be guided through an ECT tutorial, then they can practice ECT with no guidance at 3 distinct difficulty levels. Level 1 of the simulator will contain ECT scenarios with very few patient conditions that need additional consideration. Level 2 will contain more patient conditions that need additional consideration, as well as a chance for adverse events to occur during treatment. Level 3 will contain many patient conditions that require the user to consider when deciding how to provide ECT, as well as a high chance of adverse events occurring. Users will be shown how well they did after completing a run of a scenario.

Mannequin Simulator

A mannequin that users can use to practice electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) administration on. Users will be provided a mannequin and ECT equipment, as well as a scenario check-list to go through.

Primary outcome measure

  • Electroconvulsive Therapy Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (ECT-OSATS) [ Time Frame: Before and after the study educational intervention administration (day 1) ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Fahad Alam, MD, FRCPC

416-480-4864Fahad.Alam@Sunnybrook.ca

Lilia Kaustov, PhD

416-480-6100lilia.kaustov@sunnybrook.ca

Locations

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Recruiting

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4N 3M5

More Information

Sponsor

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Last update posted

Aug 10, 2026

Last verified

Aug, 2026

Keywords

  • virtual reality
  • mannequin
  • education
  • electroconvulsive therapy

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre on 2026-08-10.