The 2nd International Workshop on eXtended Reality for Rehabilitation (XRehab)

Overview

Technologies using eXtended Reality (XR) have been increasingly applied in healthcare and rehabilitation, offering innovative solutions for physical therapy, cognitive rehabilitation, motor recovery, pain management, and mental health interventions. 

XR can enhance rehabilitation outcomes by providing immersive, engaging, and adaptive environments that support personalized therapy and real-time feedback while reducing physical and cognitive strain through interactive and motivating experiences.

This workshop, eXtended Reality for Rehabilitation (XRehab), aims to explore the current state of XR research in rehabilitation, and discuss future research directions. XRehab will serve as a platform for collaboration between XR developers, healthcare professionals, and researchers, fostering innovation in XR-based therapeutic interventions.

The workshop will be conducted under ISMAR 2026 in a hybrid format.

Advancing pediatric rehabilitation through Virtual Reality 

Abstract:

Virtual reality (VR) technologies are increasingly being integrated into pediatric rehabilitation and assessment, offering innovative tools to enhance engagement, personalize interventions, and capture objective outcome measures. This talk will provide an overview of VR solutions with varying levels of immersion, ranging from large-scale systems such as GRAIL to semi-immersive environments like Nirvana, and head-mounted displays (HMDs).

Applications in both typically developing children and clinical populations, including children with disabilities and neurodiversity, will be discussed. The presentation will highlight custom-developed VR applications and their integration into structured clinical protocols. Particular attention will be given to interventional studies assessing motor and neurophysiological outcomes, demonstrating the potential of VR to support functional recovery, improve motor performance, and enable more precise evaluation of rehabilitation effects.

Overall, this contribution aims to provide a comprehensive perspective on the role of VR technologies in advancing pediatric neurorehabilitation and assessment.

Bio:

Emilia Biffi obtained a PhD cum laude in Bioengineering in 2012 and has been a researcher at the Scientific Institute IRCCS E. Medea since 2013. Her work focuses on the development and clinical validation of innovative technologies for the rehabilitation and assistance of children with neuromotor and cognitive impairments. She coordinates and contributes to European and national research projects funded by major public bodies, including the European Commission, Fondazione Cariplo and the Italian Ministries of Health and University and Research. She has extensive experience in clinical trials and real-world evaluation of advanced technologies, including robotic systems, virtual reality, and wearable sensors. She has authored several scientific publications in this field (h-index: 22).