This week I want to step aside from the usual research summary to share a small paradox I found while reviewing WHO documents for my PhD work on XR adoption in healthcare. It says a lot about how immersive technologies are perceived today. The paradox in WHO strategies The WHO Guideline: Recommendations on Digital Interventions for Health System Strengthening (2019) … Read More

Most conditions with long silent phases, like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are only detected late because we rely on subjective cognitive tests or biomarkers that are invasive, expensive, or not easily available in routine care. Could virtual reality help close this gap? This week’s study by Shima et al. (2025) tests whether a VR-based navigation task can serve as a non-invasive … Read More

Chronic pain is more than a sensory issue. It affects cognition in profound ways. This week’s review examines a newly published synthesis by Guerra-Armas et al. (2025), which explores an often-overlooked consequence of chronic pain: neurocognitive impairment. Deficits in attention, executive function, memory and body perception not only impact quality of life but also limit adherence to treatment and the … Read More

👩‍⚕️ Virtual Reality (VR) is already being used in both clinical and educational contexts with young children, particularly for therapeutic distraction, neurodevelopmental interventions and immersive learning. These uses typically occur in supervised, controlled settings, but until now, guidance on safe and developmentally appropriate XR use in children has remained fragmented. 🛠️ Despite this growing body of applied research, hardware manufacturers … Read More

📍 Published in JMIR Extended Reality, our recent case series explores something simple yet complex: Can Virtual Reality (VR) be used in real-life clinical workflows before surgery, not as a study add-on, but as part of actual care? This #SundayResearchDive brings you the story behind the pilot: what worked, what we learned, and what we’ll change next. 🎥 Behind the … Read More

Could Virtual Reality (VR) complement traditional cognitive assessments by offering more objective, standardized measurements? This week’s #SundayResearchDive explores a new study by Sorrentino et al. investigating VR as an objective assessment tool for cognitive functions, particularly distractor inhibition in stroke patients. The Study: Using VR for Cognitive Testing 📌 Researchers tested 30 participants (15 stroke survivors, 15 healthy controls) using … Read More

💨 Can virtual reality make it easier to breathe? Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a relentless condition that limits airflow and diminishes the quality of life for millions worldwide. Standard pulmonary rehabilitation programs emphasize breathing exercises to strengthen respiratory muscles and reduce dyspnea, but engagement and adherence remain critical challenges. This week, we explore a fascinating randomized controlled trial … Read More