• VR may improve patient experience and reduce the number of aborted cardiac imaging studies due to anxiety or claustrophobia.
• The headset did not disrupt staff workflow and may save money on canceled procedures.

Using a virtual reality headset may improve patient experience during noninvasive cardiac imaging for those who reported anxiety or claustrophobia related to the ordered study, a speaker reported.

The VR headset was well tolerated by patients and not disruptive to staff workflow during PET or CT imaging and may save procedural costs by reducing aborted studies, according to a study presented at American College of Cardiology Quality Summit.

“The project began with a very practical clinical problem. We were seeing patients who needed cardiac PET/CT imaging but struggled to tolerate the confined environment because of claustrophobia. For some patients, that can mean additional medication, rescheduling or the inability to complete testing altogether. We wanted to explore whether virtual reality could provide a simple, nonpharmacologic option that made imaging more tolerable and accessible,” Kaitlyn A. Amidon, BSN, RN, MBA, registered nurse at UCHealth Southern Region, told Healio. “A relatively simple intervention can make a meaningful difference in a patient’s ability to complete care.”

Amidon and colleagues tested the VR-based quality improvement initiative in a group of 105 patients undergoing PET/CT imaging between July 14, 2025, and March 4 who self-reported cardiac imaging-related anxiety or claustrophobia. The patients were offered use of a VR headset showing calming, virtual environments during cardiac imaging, according to the study methods.

The VR headset was placed on the patients before entering the gantry, with no other changes to imaging protocols or scanning duration, and patient experience and operational feasibility were assessed with a survey after imaging.

The researchers reported that the initial VR system cost was $4,387 plus $168 per month thereafter, and every aborted imaging study cost approximately $2,959.49. Even a modest reduction in aborted imaging studies due to anxiety or claustrophobia could result in significant cost savings, according to the presentation.

Overall, 95% of participants successfully completed the ordered imaging study; 80% wore the VR headset for the full duration of the study; and 76% reported a positive experience using the headset during their study, according to the presentation.

Eleven percent of participants reported physical discomfort due to headset fit, and the most frequent technical issue was a Wi-Fi-related error message, occurring during 21% of imaging studies. These messages were brief and did not prevent completion of the studies, the researchers found.

The VR headset intervention did not require additional staffing or scan time and was reported to cause minimal disruption to existing workflow, according to the presentation.

“I was particularly encouraged by how well patients tolerated VR during a relatively long imaging procedure,” Amidon told Healio. “It reinforced that patient experience and diagnostic success do not have to be competing priorities.”

The researchers noted that 12% of patients reported use of anxiolytic medications in addition to the VR headset.

The VR headset did not cause any imaging artifacts, and diagnostic-quality imaging was achieved for normal and abnormal studies, according to the presentation.

“VR may offer CV imaging programs another tool for patients whose claustrophobia creates a barrier to care. Improving tolerance may help avoid incomplete studies and reduce reliance on pharmacologic anxiety management for some patients,” Amidon told Healio. “What I find most exciting is how transferable this concept may be. This project started with one very specific patient-care problem, but it demonstrates the value of identifying barriers at the bedside and testing practical solutions that can improve the patient experience while supporting completion of necessary diagnostic care.”

Kaitlyn A. Amidon, BSN, RN, MBA, can be reached at kaitlyn.amidon@uchealth.org.