Celebrating International Women’s Day: XR Women Shaped Efforts in Medical Space
Virtual reality is rapidly moving from novelty to necessity in healthcare, giving patients and professionals new tools to self-regulate, heal, and learn in deeply personal ways. Remarkably, several of the most innovative efforts in this space are being led or shaped by members of the XR Women community.
Game designer and MS advocate Ned Shoaei, a founding member of the XR Women Student Chapter at the SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design), is developing a neuroadaptive, gamified VR system that uses real-time EEG neurofeedback to help people with Multiple Sclerosis self-regulate fatigue and other symptoms. Grounded in neuroplasticity and operant conditioning, this work turns self-care into an interactive loop: the user’s brain signals shape the virtual environment, and the environment in turn reinforces healthier regulation patterns.
On the mental health front, Ginna Lambert, a member of the XR Women Leadership Team, is Director of XR Content & Executive Producer at Lighthouse, an initiative leveraging immersive environments to support veterans in recovery from anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders. In collaboration with clinicians and programs such as Transcending Self Therapy VR (TST‑VR), these Lighthouse-style experiences give veterans serene, configurable spaces that make therapy feel safer and more engaging, with early studies of TST‑VR showing higher treatment completion rates among veterans in residential care.
At the system level, Christine Hill Hobbi, an Instructional Designer at neuRealities and also on the XR Women Leadership Team, is helping build curriculum in a collaboration between neuRealities, Mayo Clinic, and Mesmerise that reimagines how clinicians themselves learn and self-regulate under pressure. By combining Mayo’s clinical expertise with AI-powered spatial computing, neuRealities delivers immersive training for healthcare professionals, starting with CT training for radiologic technologists who can repeatedly practice complex scenarios in VR, receive adaptive feedback from AI-enabled digital humans, and build confidence before ever touching a real scanner or patient.
Together, these XR Women–connected projects point toward a future where VR is not just a visualization tool but a co-therapist, coach, and classroom—helping people regulate their own bodies and minds while helping clinicians train for the moments that matter most.
As an XR community, what other health or self‑regulation challenges do you think are most urgent for us to tackle next with immersive technologies—and who in our network is already experimenting at those frontiers?
More Info on Ned Shoaei’s MS Project: https://youtu.be/PTwJRk4Tf20?si=uAFB_4V2JM8Q8fcn
More info on Ginna Lambert’s Lighthouse work with Veterans: VCU inventor gives lawmakers a look at the virtual reality treatment that is serving veterans’ mental health - VCU News - Virginia Commonwealth University
More info on neuRealities’ AI-driven experiences in Healthcare: neuRealities | Explore Immersive Learning Now