VR Feasibility Study / Patient Care Integration

Through Springbok Cares, we partnered with USC's Norris Cancer Center at Keck Medical Hospital on a foundational question: could VR be used safely and effectively with immune-compromised cancer patients? Nobody had established the standards for that environment, so proving viability meant building them from scratch.

Don't just demo headsets. Build the full clinical infrastructure — sanitation standards, bedside service, licensed content, trained staff — so VR could live inside real patient care rather than visit it.

I designed and ran the program Cares: the protocols, the content licensing agreements, the staffing, and the working relationships with patient services and the clinical teams.

We began by developing sanitation protocols and standards for VR hardware in environments with heightened infection risk, with patient health and safety as the top priority. We then worked with patient services to establish bedside service programs enabling in-room VR for cancer patients, and curated and secured licensing agreements for content libraries tailored to patients' needs and preferences. A dedicated staff was hired and trained in patient-focused etiquette and bedside protocols. The program served both inpatient and outpatient care, from young adults to geriatric individuals undergoing treatment.

The study established the viability, safety, and effectiveness of VR for this population, and its protocols became the hospital-wide standard for immersive technology at the facility. Beyond that, the program became a blueprint for how VR can offer comfort, distraction, and engagement during hard treatments.