NCT03314415

Pilot Study on Weight Loss With Robotic Assistance

• Status: Withdrawn
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 0 (actual)
• Sponsor: Tufts University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 25 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether robotic assistance can help facilitate adherence, engagement, and weight loss in participants enrolled in a behavioral weight loss program. All participants will be enrolled in the same Web-based weight loss program and take part in "robotic assistance sessions" either early or late in the five-week study. These robotic assistance sessions involve speaking one on one with a robot about diet-related progress.

Detailed description

At the start of the five-week study, all participants will be enrolled in a Web-based behavioral weight loss program. The weight loss program places particular emphasis on hunger reduction and craving control for both weight loss and prevention of weight regain. The program will consist of six videoconference sessions delivered by a qualified coach. Menus and other program materials will be available to the participants throughout the study period. Participants also will be assigned to attend one-on-one "robotic assistance sessions" either early or late in the five-week study. During each robotic assistance session, the participant will speak with the robot about his/her progress with the weight loss program. The robot is programmed to respond to specific issues raised by the participant, but a human operator with thorough knowledge of the weight loss program will be available in case the conversation goes "off script." This human operator can initiate robot behaviors and prompt verbal responses through a text-to-speech interface. Data from this study will be used to refine the robot for future use and determine whether robotic help can improve a participant's experience in a previously tested weight loss program.

Conditions

• Overweight and Obesity
• Weight Loss

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
DEVICE	Aldebaraan Nao H25	The Aldebaraan Nao H25 is a humanoid robot with the capability to interact with people through small movements, gestures, and speech. It does not physically touch the participant at any time.

Timeline

• Start date: 2018-10-11
• Primary completion: 2018-11-30
• Completion: 2018-11-30
• First posted: 2017-10-19
• Last updated: 2018-11-07

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States