Using virtual reality (VR) to explain what to expect ahead of a medical procedure could help patients better understand their treatment and reduce anxiety, a new study suggests.
The research is presented today [Friday 13 March 2026] at the European Association of Urology Congress in London (EAU26).
Patients often receive a leaflet of key information before consenting to undergo treatment. This includes what will happen, risks and benefits, which they can then discuss further with their clinician. However, information leaflets often contain jargon and are written in a way that exceeds most people's reading skills. Around 6 in 10 adults in England struggle to understand complex medical information, which affects their ability to make a fully informed decision about whether to undergo a procedure.
The new research tested using VR as part of the consent process for a procedure to treat kidney stones. Shockwave lithotripsy is a non-invasive procedure that uses high-energy sound waves to break kidney stones into smaller pieces. During the VR experience, patients stood in a virtual operating room and watched a 3D demonstration of the procedure that zoomed into the kidneys to show the shockwaves and how they affect the kidney stones. Patients could also move around the room to see the patient's anatomy and the surgical instruments from different angles. The animation highlighted key risks and benefits.
The researchers used questionnaires to compare how patients felt before and after taking part in the VR experience. After VR, patients said they better understood what to expect from shockwave lithotripsy. They also felt less anxious about undergoing the procedure. The impact was particularly pronounced in the oldest group of patients, aged 65 and above. There was no difference between male and female participants.
150 people aged 22 to 80 took part in the study at University Hospital Southampton, as part of their consent process ahead of planned lithotripsy. The study was led by consultant urological surgeons Bhaskar Somani and Amelia Pietropaolo. The technology was developed by Phoebe Reynolds, director of UK-based medical technology company Surgassists. As there are known links between anxiety, understanding and pain tolerance, the researchers are now looking to further explore whether VR consenting could also help to reduce pain for patients.
Solomon Bracey, a medical student at the University of Southampton, UK, is presenting the research at EAU26. He said: "There is currently a mismatch between the complexity of information provided to patients and the level which most people can comprehend. This risks people consenting to procedures they don't fully understand. VR has been shown to improve learning and knowledge retention, and our study suggests it could be used to help people to make more fully informed decisions about their health. We were also encouraged by what we saw in pain questionnaires, which gives us an important question to explore in future research."
Matthew Bultitude, a member of the EAU Scientific Congress Office and a consultant urological surgeon at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The use of VR is an exciting idea that could enhance the patient experience during the consent process. Technology should never replace a conversation with a clinician, where patients have a chance to ask detailed questions, but it could help to level the playing field in terms of health literacy, so that everyone comes into that discussion with the same baseline level of information."
