Virtual Reality as an Adjunct to Traditional Patient Counseling in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Localized Prostate...

Area of Science:

• Urology
• Medical Imaging
• Virtual Reality

Background:

• Patient understanding of localized prostate cancer (PCa) diagnosis and surgical plans is crucial for shared decision-making.
• Traditional methods of patient counseling may not fully convey complex anatomical and procedural information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the utility of a virtual reality (VR) model, built from patient-specific clinical imaging, in enhancing patient comprehension of localized PCa diagnosis and surgical strategy.
• To assess patient satisfaction with VR as an adjunct to standard pre-surgical counseling.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 15 patients scheduled for robotic radical prostatectomy completed knowledge questionnaires before and after a VR session.
• The VR experience utilized patient-derived clinical imaging to present a 3D model of their anatomy.
• Patient satisfaction and understanding were measured using Likert scale and multiple-choice questions.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement was observed in 6 out of 7 questions assessing patient understanding post-VR (P < .001).
• The percentage of correct answers for specific knowledge questions (8-10) increased after VR, though not to a statistically significant level (P > .13).
• Patients reported high satisfaction with the VR experience, with mean Likert scale responses ranging from 4.3 to 4.8 (out of 5).

Conclusions:

• Patient-specific VR models show promise as a supplementary tool to traditional counseling for localized prostate cancer (PCa).
• The technology demonstrated potential for improving patient understanding and satisfaction.
• Further research with larger sample sizes and robust study designs is necessary to definitively establish the value of VR in prostate cancer surgical counseling.