Co-located with IEEE ISMAR 2026  ·  Bari, Italy  ·  October 5–9, 2026  ·  Hybrid
IEEE ISMAR 2026 Workshop  ·  1st Edition

XR for Neurocognitive Assessment,
Rehabilitation & Digital Biomarkers:
Methods, Applications and Evaluation Challenges

XR-NeuroHealth'26

October 5–6, 2026 (date TBD)
Bari, Italy
Hybrid Format
IEEE Xplore Publication
Submit a Paper Learn More
Pillar I
XR Task Design & Ecological Validity
Clinically meaningful immersive tasks that are controlled and repeatable
Pillar II
Telemetry, Multimodal Data & Digital Biomarkers
HMD telemetry, motion, gaze, physiological signals and their interpretation
Pillar III
Clinical Validation, Evaluation & Translation
Study design, clinical standards, mixed-methods, workflow integration
Pillar IV
Ethics, Accessibility & Reproducibility
Responsible data use, patient safety, inclusive design, open science
About

Workshop Overview

Extended Reality technologies are increasingly being explored as interactive, immersive, and data-rich environments for neurocognitive assessment, rehabilitation, and health-related intervention. Compared with traditional tools, XR systems can reproduce complex real-world situations while capturing fine-grained behavioral data — including movement patterns, task performance, gaze, posture, interaction traces, physiological signals, and subjective responses.

This opens new opportunities for observing cognition, motor behavior, perception, attention, memory, spatial orientation, pain, fatigue, and functional performance in controlled yet ecologically meaningful scenarios. However, the field still lacks shared methodological frameworks for designing XR-based tasks, validating behavioral measures, interpreting telemetry data, and translating immersive interaction patterns into clinically meaningful digital biomarkers.

XR-NeuroHealth'26 brings together XR researchers, HCI scholars, clinicians, rehabilitation experts, cognitive scientists, AI/data science researchers, and digital health practitioners. The workshop positions XR not merely as a visualization technology, but as an ecologically valid, data-rich environment for observing, supporting, and measuring neurocognitive and rehabilitation-related processes.

Topics of Interest
XR-based neurocognitive assessment Immersive rehabilitation & therapy Digital biomarkers from XR Behavioral telemetry in VR/AR/MR Multimodal sensing AI/ML for XR health data Ecological validity Serious games for clinical assessment Chronic pain & fibromyalgia Neurological disorders Cognitive impairment & aging Mental health Balance & spatial orientation Motor control & fatigue Human factors in medical XR Accessibility & inclusive design Mixed-methods evaluation Clinical validation Ethics & privacy Reporting standards & open science Reproducibility
Call for Papers

Submission

Submission Deadline
Full paper submission
5 July 2026
Notification
Author notification
17 July 2026
Camera-ready
Final version due
21 July 2026
Workshop Date
XR-NeuroHealth'26
October 5–6, 2026
Submission Types & Instructions
Short research papers
4–6 pages
Position papers
2–4 pages
Demo / system papers
2–4 pages
Clinical or methodological case studies
2–4 pages

All submissions must be written in English and formatted according to the IEEE Computer Society VGTC conference format (templates: LaTeX  ·  Word). Accepted papers are intended for publication in the ISMAR 2026 Adjunct Proceedings and IEEE Xplore, subject to the final publication policy of ISMAR 2026.

Each submission will receive at least two reviews by program committee members. Evaluation criteria include relevance, originality, methodological clarity, interdisciplinary value, ethical awareness, potential to stimulate discussion, and alignment with ISMAR topics.

Invited Speaker

Keynote

The keynote speaker will be announced soon. The invited senior researcher or clinician will frame the main challenge: moving XR health systems from promising prototypes to validated, interpretable, and clinically meaningful tools.
Team

Organizing Committee

Alessandro Pagano
Alessandro Pagano
General Chair
Assistant Professor · University of Bari Aldo Moro
Department of Computer Science, Italy
↗ alessandropagano.net
His research investigates assessment-oriented XR for fibromyalgia and chronic pain, using VR serious games to elicit behavioral, cognitive, and physiological responses through HMD telemetry, structured observation, and data-driven analysis. He is an associate member of the McLearn Lab at Carnegie Mellon University.
Extended RealityDigital BiomarkersMedical XRSerious Games
Rubén Garcia Vidal
Rubén Garcia Vidal
Co-organizer
Researcher & Project Manager · Universitat Jaume I
Institute of New Imaging Technologies (INIT), Spain
↗ init.uji.es
Holds a Bachelor's in Mathematics and a Master's in Computational Mathematics. His work focuses on Ethics of AI, Responsible AI, and AI and Society, investigating how XR and HCI can be developed responsibly to ensure inclusivity and promote social welfare.
Ethics of AIResponsible AIExtended RealityDigital Literacy
Linda García Rytman
Linda García Rytman
Co-organizer
PhD Candidate · Universitat Jaume I
Centre de Visualització Interactiva (CEVI), Spain
Her work focuses on serious games, immersive technologies, and intelligent interactive systems for education and training, particularly through conversational simulations in Unity for medical education, decision-making, and experiential learning.
Serious GamesExtended RealityHCIAI-Supported Assessment
Giulio Mallardi
Giulio Mallardi
Co-organizer
Assistant Professor · University of Bari Aldo Moro
Department of Computer Science, Italy
↗ collab.di.uniba.it
His research focuses on software engineering, AI, MLOps, trustworthy AI, and regulatory compliance for AI-enabled healthcare systems, with applications in neuroimaging, digital twins, and medical device certification. Previously worked at Microsoft and Exprivia.
AI-enabled SystemsDigital HealthResponsible AICybersecurity
Program

Workshop Schedule

Half-day hybrid workshop. Times shown relative to start. Exact start time TBD.
+0:00–+0:10
Welcome, workshop goals & participant introductions
Organizing committee
+0:10–+0:40
Invited Keynote Keynote
XR, neurocognition, and clinical translation
+0:40–+1:25
Paper & demo presentations Presentations
Short papers, position papers, and demo/system presentations
+1:25–+1:40
Coffee break Break
+1:40–+2:25
Breakout discussions Discussion
Four facilitated groups — one per methodological pillar
+2:25–+3:00
Curated panel Panel
From XR tasks to clinically meaningful digital biomarkers
+3:00–+3:25
Roundtable Roundtable
Priorities for the XR-NeuroHealth research agenda
+3:25–+3:50
Reporting framework consolidation Discussion
Key dimensions from keynote, presentations, breakouts, panel & roundtable
+3:50–+4:00
Wrap-up, next steps & follow-up activities
Organizing committee
Committee

Program Committee

Covering XR, HCI, neurorehabilitation, clinical assessment, cognitive science, digital health, AI, accessibility, and ethics.

FI
Fiorenzo Iannone
Policlinico di Bari, Italy
Medical Rheumatology
To be confirmed
BT
Benedetta Tafuri
University of Salento, Italy
Digital Biomarkers, Physiological Signals, Radiomics
Confirmed
RM
Radovan Madleňák
University of Žilina, Slovakia
VR and Digital Biomarkers
Confirmed
AC
Antonio Curci
University of Bari, Italy
XR / HCI
Confirmed
MG
Markella Grigoriou
University of Limassol, Cyprus
Clinical Neuroscience
To be confirmed
MC
Miriana Calvano
University of Bari, Italy
HCI Evaluation Methods
Confirmed
BM
Bruce M. McLaren
Carnegie Mellon University, PA, USA
Serious Games, Human-Centered Interactive Learning
Confirmed
IR
Inmaculada Remolar Quintana
Jaume I University, Spain
XR Task Design, Immersive Visualization, VR/AR
Confirmed
SM
Suela Maxhelaku
University of Tirana, Albania
Digital Health, Ontologies, Artificial Intelligence
Confirmed
FT
Francesca Pia Travisani
University of Bari, Italy
User Studies in XR
Confirmed
MM
Mahboobeh Mehrvarz
Carnegie Mellon University, PA, USA
Technology Acceptance, Digital Learning
Confirmed
AAC
Andrea Antonio Cantone
University of Salerno, Italy
HCI, VR, XR Applications
Confirmed
NF
Nadeem Faisal
National Textile University, Pakistan
Human-Centered AI
Confirmed