Emotional DistressMystic PetNCT06922032
A Novel Auditory Application for Distraction in Pediatric Patients
A study testing Mystics Pet in people with Emotional Distress, run by Stanford University at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This mixed-methods study seeks to evaluate the feasibility of Mystic Pets software and hardware within the pediatric population. This study will take place at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA). Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 4 to 17 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Emotional Distress
- What is being tested?
- Mystics Pet
- Type of treatment
- Medical device
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 20 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Dec 2026to 30 Jan 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
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 4 to 17 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child
Who may be able to join
- Between 4-17 years
- English speaking participants
Who cannot join
- Legal guardian not present to obtain consent
- Child with hearing impairment
- Child with a significant neurological condition, or major developmental disability
- Child with facial abnormalities or injuries prohibiting use of headsets
- Nausea at the time of recruitment,
- A history of severe motion sickness,
- A history of seizures
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
Palo Alto, California, 94304
Thomas J Caruso, MD, MEd, 650-723-5728, tjcaruso@stanford.edu
About this study
Official title: A Novel Auditory Application for Distraction in Pediatric Patients: A Pilot Feasibility and Acceptability Study
This mixed-methods study seeks to evaluate the feasibility of Mystic Pets software and hardware within the pediatric population. This study will take place at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital (Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA).
Read the detailed description
Hospitalized children often experience emotional distress related to medical procedures, unfamiliar environments, and limited control over their situations. Existing distraction techniques, such as traditional videos and gaming, often rely heavily on visual interfaces, which can be limiting in clinical contexts. Current immersive technology software and hardware for procedural distraction rely on partial to complete immersion in a computer-generated environment to the real world. While immersive technology can reduce emotional distress with distraction, some patients experience increased distress due to loss of visual connection with their surroundings and/or caregivers. Using a head-mounted device and hand-gesture inputs, Mystic Pets maintains visual contact with a person's surroundings while gameplay is advanced through audio input and hand-gestures.
This research will significantly contribute to the growing field of digital therapeutics by providing early-stage data on a novel, immersive technology tailored to pediatric clinical care. If proven feasible, Mystic Pets could expand the toolkit available for procedural distraction, enhance patient comfort, and reduce the reliance on pharmacological interventions for emotion distress management.
The study also aims to establish preliminary engagement and usability benchmarks to guide future development and deployment of similar technologies in hospital environments.
- Conditions
- Emotional Distress
- Being tested
- Mystics Pet
- Keywords
- Game engagement, Awe, Procedural Distraction
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Mystics PetDevice
Participants will receive the game intervention and be instructed to wear a Oculus Quest 2 headset (Meta, Inc., Menlo Park, CA) and participate in Mystic Pets software game (Stanford Chariot Program, Palo Alto, CA) that is specifically designed to promote overall distraction and emotional distress reduction.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Mystics Pets group | Experimental | Not described Receives: Device: Mystics Pet |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Feasibility of Mystics Pets, based on an unpublished focus group interview guide at the Department of Anesthesiology, Stanford University
Participants will provide qualitative feedback on the acceptability and feasibility of the use of Mystics Pets. Example question will include: "Can you please tell me about your experience?"
Measured: immediately after intervention
Secondary outcomes (4)
ISO Ergonomic scale
The scale has 6 items. Scores ranges from 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree)
Measured: immediately after intervention
System Usability Scale (SUS) Score
The scale has 10 items. Scores ranges from 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree)
Measured: immediately after intervention
Game Engagement score
Game Engagement score measured by Game Engagement Questionnaire. The scale has 16 items. Scores ranges from 1-5 (1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree)
Measured: immediately after intervention
Evaluate awe levels measured by Awe Experience Scale - Short Form
The scale has 12 items. Scores ranges from 1-7 (1 = strongly disagree and 7 = strongly agree)
Measured: immediately after intervention
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted10 Apr 2025
- Study start1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion30 Jan 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion30 Jan 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Emotional DistressStudies 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
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 20 participants (estimated)
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
- NCT06922032
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 80354
- Acronym
- Mystic Pet
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 3 Apr 2025
- Last updated
- 18 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No