IU Health study pairs brain cancer patients with therapy dogs to measure quality of life

Researchers at Indianapolis-based Indiana University Health Neuroscience Center are studying whether brain cancer patients with the most aggressive kind of brain tumor can see their quality of life bolstered by spending time with therapy dogs.

Mahua Dey, MD, a neurosurgeon at the IU Health Neuroscience Center at IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and Stefan Petranek, an associate professor of photography and intermedia at IUPUI Herron School of Art and Design, designed the study. The "Bridging the Gap" study will test whether short, 10-minute sessions with a therapy dog can improve the quality of life of brain cancer patients, according to Daily Journal.

An Indiana University grant for research in the arts and humanities will fund the three-pronged study. The first phase involves gauging how patients feel prior to and following time spent with a therapy dog. Then researchers will use objective criteria to analyze a patient's facial expressions during the therapy session. While quality-of-life questionnaires are often used to document how brain cancer patients are doing over time, cognitive deficits associated with the disease create barriers to completing the questionnaires. Analyzing facial expressions may enable a physician to better understand how patients are doing over time, according to Dr. Dey.

The last part of the study involves Mr. Petranek taking slow-motion video and recording audio of study participants to curate a public art exhibit about the patients' experience, according to the report.

Four patients have signed up for Bridging the Gap. Researchers hope at least 50 patients will participate. 

"It will tell the human side of what it means to bear the burden of a disease such as brain cancer or a brain tumor," Mr. Petranek told Daily Journal. "I think there are a lot of times where our society doesn't necessarily think too much about difficult topics such as this. These patients have a wealth of emotional knowledge to tell us."  

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