Trial Report Virtual Pet–Assisted Therapy to Alleviate Symptoms of Long COVID: A Prospective Pilot Interventional Study, 2025, Kamo et al

[forestglip]

Virtual Pet–Assisted Therapy to Alleviate Symptoms of Long COVID: A Prospective Pilot Interventional Study

Spoiler: Authors

Kamo, Ruka; Miyagami, Taiju; Saita, Mizue; Hara, Nanami; Mine, Yuichiro; Nishina, Tsubasa; Fukui, Yukiko; Harada, Yoshinao; Niitsuma, Mihoko; Naito, Toshio

[Line breaks added]

Background: Post–COVID-19 condition (long COVID) is characterized by persistent symptoms following acute infection. Given the limited efficacy of pharmacologic treatments, there is growing interest in complementary, non-contact interventions.

Virtual pet–assisted therapy (VAT), a virtual reality-based adaptation of animal-assisted therapy, may offer a novel strategy for symptom management in this population.

Material and Methods: A prospective intervention was conducted in the long COVID clinic at Juntendo University Hospital between July and December 2023. Adult patients with long COVID engaged with a virtual dog for 10 minutes prior to their clinical consultation.

Twelve symptoms considered potentially responsive to short-term intervention were self-rated on a 10-point scale before and after the session, with scores representing mean values.

Results: Forty-two participants (median age: 46 years; 71.4% female) were included in the analysis. The mean total symptom score decreased by 7.2%, from 34.6 points before the intervention to 32.1 points after (P=0.004).

Fatigue scores decreased by 9.5% (from 6.3 to 5.7, P=0.004), dyspnea decreased by 17% (from 2.3 to 1.9, P=0.038), memory impairment decreased by 13% (from 4.8 to 4.2, P=0.015), and tinnitus decreased by 22% (from 2.3 to 1.8, P=0.012).

Conclusions: VAT could be a feasible and well-tolerated intervention worth further investigation as a potential adjunct for alleviating key symptoms of long COVID, particularly those with psychological components. Although this preliminary study is limited by the lack of a control group, it serves as a pilot study that demonstrates the potential of VAT.


Web | DOI | Medical Science Monitor | Open Access

 

[forestglip]

 

[Yann04]

Absolute gold coming from Japan. Are there awards for most ridiculous study?

 

[Eleanor]

Bad researcher. Go to your basket.

 

[Sly Saint]

maybe as the follow up they could combine it with another gem of a study and show a virtual pet carrying a shopping bag..........although they might have to pick a different breed of dog.

Thread '(Not a recommendation) Bath University, Volunteer for research investigating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome'

Apr 23, 2018

This is Bath Dept.of Psychology. The supervisor is Jo Daniels, research interests,

• Metacognitions and symptom severity in COPD
• Emergency Dept frequent attenders
• Early Intervention in fatigue
• Health anxiety in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME
• Pain in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME
• Fibromyalgia

we're recruiting participants for research into responses to physical exertion in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

This research aims to improve our understanding of physical exertion in those with and without...

• Indigophoton
• 2018 bath university bps jo daniels me/cfs psychology research shopping bag study
• Replies: 72
• Forum: Psychosomatic research - ME/CFS and Long Covid

• 

 

[Utsikt]

There is something amusing about a VR study presenting the results with a PP graph.



The scores are abysmal.

 

[Mij]

The PG effect.

 

[Kitty]

View attachment 29605

What, you don't even get a real sausage dog?

 

[Turtle]

Does this kind of research show the bankrupt of real ideas how to help patients.
Those patients with a psychological components react best? Yuk!!
No control group. Could have been done without too much effort.
I find this kind of "research" offensive.

 

[Creekside]

How many PWME (or LC) have had to give up a pet because caring for it was too demanding? That would apply to virtual pets too.

 

[Yann04]

For what its worth I wanted to try a tamagochi (virtual pet), mostly to distract myself and for fun but i quickly found the expectation of doing tasks regularly (or the pet would “die”) was way too much for me at my severity.

 

[V.R.T.]

My first thought when I read that title was 'oh just f-k off already!'

 

[rvallee]

Does this kind of research show the bankrupt of real ideas how to help patients.

It's the same idea as ever. There is only ever really one idea here. This thing was bankrupt the very first second it was thought of the first time, and ever since it's been nothing but pure copy-paste. Theology is a far more creative and intellectual field of study, and it literally cannot change since the source material is set in stone.

How many PWME (or LC) have had to give up a pet because caring for it was too demanding? That would apply to virtual pets too.

Yeah it's actually pretty cruel considering this, and how infantilizing it is. I find this completely disrespectful. As punishment, the people doing this stuff should have someone follow them around for the rest of their lives and whenever they face any hardship, any at all, that follower should just jiggle keys in front of them to distract them from those problems, and scold them if they don't play along, and any normal form of support should be denied to them because look at the jiggly keys.

 

[Trish]

Are they really saying ten minutes with a virtual pet changed their scores on symptom questionnaires?

If that's the case, rather than concluding that virtual pets are a useful treatment, surely it shows that questionnaire scores are highly unreliable, being able to be influenced in ten minutes by something so minor and fleeting.

I wonder whether giving them ten minutes in a warm quiet room with tea and cake, or lying down watching a comedy, instead of sitting in a busy waiting room would have the same effect.

 

[RedFox]

Imagine how much money this will save when they use it to cure cancer.

 

[rvallee]

Good grief it's even worse than I thought.

Using the device’s accompanying controllers, participants could perform various interactive actions (Figure 4). Participants extended their hands toward the approaching dog and stroked it, while the controller transmitted vibrations to their hands, simulating the sensation of actually petting the dog. By pressing a button on the controller, participants could grasp a ball regardless of distance and throw it far away. The virtual pet would chase the ball and return it to the participant. Based on findings from animal behavior science [26], these interactions were designed to elicit attachment behaviors from the virtual pet toward the participant.

There is no instance of AI slop that is as ridiculous as the slop humans can come up with. It's basically Musk's horny virtual girlfriends, except somehow worse in every single way because of its context.

If that's the case, rather than concluding that virtual pets are a useful treatment, surely it shows that questionnaire scores are highly unreliable, being able to be influenced in ten minutes by something so minor and fleeting.

That's been the only rational conclusion going back decades, and it's only getting worse.

AI medicine. Now. Humans have peaked. Human psychology needs to be completely removed from this, it's nothing but incompetence so extreme it's indistinguishable from malice.