Virtual Reality in Awake Surgery : Pilot Study VIRAS

The VIRAS (Virtual Reality in Awake Surgery) project is a two-stage, adaptive study. Its goal is to demonstrate the tolerance of the virtual reality (VR) headset for performing cognitive neuro-monitoring during awake brain surgery. Awake surgery involves operating on patients who remain conscious during the procedure and is most commonly employed in interventions such as tumor resections and epilepsy treatments. This approach allows surgeons to monitor and preserve critical brain functions by engaging the patient in real-time assessments of motor, sensory, and cognitive capabilities. The use of immersive distractions such as VR can help reduce anxiety and discomfort during awake craniotomy.

In order to control the risks as well as possible, the investigators have tested the equipment on patients who will undergo orthopedic surgery under local anesthesia at the hospital of Brest (Saliou V, Dardenne G, Panheleux C, Le Vourc'h F, Bleunven J, Maoudj I, Longo B, Dubrana F, Yvinou A, Fernandez M, Consigny M, Nowak E, Guellec D, Seizeur R. Virtual Reality in Awake brain Surgery (VIRAS) stage I: Proof of concept and tolerance validation during scheduled orthopedic surgery. PLoS One. 2025 Sep 3;20(9):e0329894. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0329894. PMID: 40901801; PMCID: PMC12407469.)

The second part of the project; the equipment is tested on patients wich undergo neurosurgery in awake condition, using the same equipment and procedures as in the orthopedic cohort. An additional element will be the integration of a dedicated software application for the selection and control of neurofunctional tests. This application relies on an algorithm that incorporates both lesion laterality and tumor location, enabling dynamic adaptation of the test sequence.