EaseVRx-8w+ for the Treatment of Chronic Lower Back Pain

A Decentralized, Randomized, Controlled Trial to Study Health Outcomes of EaseVRx-8w+ for the Treatment of Chronic Lower Back Pain

The aim of this randomized controlled trial (RCT) is to assess outcomes for virtual reality therapy (including pain intensity, pain interference, anxiety, depression, physical function, sleep, behavioral skills development, health outcomes and satisfaction) along with healthcare utilization and costs in participants with Chronic Low Back Pain.

This is a decentralized, randomized controlled trial with four parallel study arms comparing change from pre-treatment to end-of-treatment to 12-months posttreatment in the EaseVRx-8w, EaseVRx-8w plus extended on-demand and Control groups. After consenting to join the study, participants will be randomized and allocated to one of four treatment programs. Study devices will be delivered to the participant's home with instructions for use via FedEx with complementary remote technical support.

• participants in the EaseVRx-8w arm will participate in an 8-week interventional program and continue to be followed for 24 months after completion of treatment
• participants in the EaseVRx-8w plus extended on-demand arm will enroll in an 8-week interventional program and be offered an extended 8-week ondemand period, and continue to be followed for 24 months after the completion of treatment.• participants in the first control arm will receive 2D Sham VR virtual reality content during the 8-week interventional program and continue to be followed for 24 months after the completion of treatment
• participants in the second control arm will receive 2D Sham VR virtual reality content during the 8-week interventional program and be offered an extended 8-week on-demand period, after which they will continue to be followed for 24 months after the completion of treatment All trial participants will be monitored for pain intensity and pain interference, physical function, behavioral skills development, health outcomes and satisfaction.

Additionally, to assess resource use associated with CLBP, participant data will be run through a secure Datavant matching process to be linked to their healthcare claims data if it is available in the Komodo data set. The claims will provide descriptive characterizations of resource use and healthcare costs associated with CLBP. For participant-level changes in resource use, and for comparisons between study arms, only the participants with complete claims files will be assessed. Claims matched data will capture all interactions with the healthcare system that generate an insurance claim record, which includes such things as physician visits, interventions such as steroid injections, surgery or physical therapy, emergent use of services, medications, and diagnostic procedures. Claims adjudication often lags a few months, so the most robust analyses of utilization will be performed about 6 months after the time point of interest. Health economic modeling will be performed after 1 year to assess the cost and economic outcomes of the EaseVRx intervention.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Male and female adults aged 18-85.
• Self-reported chronic low back pain that will be confirmed with claims data when available.
• Pain duration of at least three months.
• Average pain intensity score of ≥ 4 and average pain interference score of ≥ 4 on the 0-10 Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Pain Scale for the past month at screening.
• Fluency in English.
• Willing and able to comply with all study procedures including all required restrictions for the duration of study participation.
• Able to give voluntary, written informed consent to participate and have signed an Informed Consent Form specific to this study.
• Access to Internet for the duration of their study participation (24 months).
• Access to a smartphone or computer for the duration of the study.
• Availability of a physical mailing address that is not a PO box address for receipt of the device.
• Completed the Baseline Survey plus at least two of the five sets of participant surveys that are administered during the 10-day pretreatment assessment period.
• Able to provide photo ID

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to understand the goals of the study due to cognitive difficulty.
• Any medical condition that may prevent the use of virtual reality (e.g., current, or prior diagnosis of epilepsy, seizure disorder, hypersensitivity to flashing light or motion, migraines, any medical condition predisposing participant to nausea or dizziness, dementia, absence of stereoscopic vision or severe hearing impairment).
• Injury to eyes, face, or neck that prevents comfortable use of VR.
• Index back pain is linked to a cancer-related diagnosis.
• Possible suicidal ideation as indicated by the 9th item of the Participant Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).
• Previous participation in the 2020 AVR EaseVRx pivotal study.
• Receiving worker's compensation and/or involved in any active litigation related to an injury.
• Current or recent participation (i.e., within the last 2 months) in any other research study involving a drug, device, vaccine, or other interventional treatment product; or plans to participate in another research study over the next 24 months.
• Participation of two or more members in one household
• Recent or future medical procedures scheduled related to any current diagnosis