Dyspnoea patterns in patients with advanced diseases: a functional MRI feasibility study protocol.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Medical Imaging
• Digital Therapeutics

Background:

• Dyspnoea is a significant symptom in advanced cancer, COPD, and heart failure.
• Current dyspnoea treatments are often ineffective and disease-dependent.
• Immersive virtual reality (IVR) shows promise as a digital therapeutic for dyspnoea.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of using brain functional MRI (fMRI) and IVR to identify dyspnoea patterns.
• To explore differences in fMRI-identified dyspnoea patterns across various life-limiting conditions.
• To gather preliminary data for future studies on dyspnoea mechanisms.

Main Methods:

• Observational, monocentric feasibility study in a tertiary university center.
• Participants include healthy volunteers and patients with advanced cancer, COPD, or heart failure experiencing dyspnoea.
• Brain fMRI will be conducted using IVR, with descriptive statistics for feasibility outcomes.

Main Results:

• Feasibility of the fMRI and IVR protocol will be assessed.
• fMRI patterns of dyspnoea will be analyzed across different patient groups.
• Correlations between dyspnoea and psychological symptoms will be investigated.

Conclusions:

• This study will establish the feasibility of using fMRI and IVR to study dyspnoea.
• Preliminary data will inform sample size calculations for future comparative studies.
• The findings will contribute to a better understanding of dyspnoea in life-limiting diseases.