How Sheba Uses XR to Revolutionize Training and Patient Care

Sheba Medical Center is internationally recognized for pioneering the use of extended reality (XR) in healthcare. By integrating virtual reality (VR) not only in the immersive training of medical professionals but also in patient rehabilitation and remote therapy, Sheba is redefining both how clinicians learn and how patients heal. These advanced XR solutions make care safer and more effective, while extending Sheba’s innovative, patient-centered approach far beyond the hospital, setting a new standard for hybrid healthcare.

Immersive Training for Medical Professionals

At Sheba Medical Center, extended reality (XR) is more than a concept, it’s a daily tool for smarter, safer, and more effective healthcare. Led by Maor Bar, XR Medical Simulation Program Manager, Sheba is transforming both professional training and patient rehabilitation through immersive technology. “It’s very easy to embrace technology here,” says Bar. “What we basically do is [provide] the infrastructure to be the leading smart hospital in the world.”

That infrastructure includes Sheba’s state-of-the-art Virtual Reality Training Facility, where medical staff can rehearse procedures and emergency scenarios in a fully immersive, risk-free environment. “We can help them train for real-life scenarios using VR systems simulating the real world,” Bar explains.

Inside these simulated spaces, new nurses, medical students, and residents are guided through high-stakes scenarios they might otherwise face unprepared. “Just imagine a nurse going to the OR for the very first time and she doesn’t know what to do. In that scenario, we provide a system to help her train with all the instruments and even a video of the surgery – of a real surgery,” he says.

Innovation in Action: Patient Rehabilitation and Remote Care with XR

But the benefits of XR at Sheba extend far beyond staff education. Sheba’s leadership in XR innovation is rooted in its larger ARC (Accelerate, Redesign, Collaborate) framework, a system built to bring clinical needs and technological solutions together under one roof. The medical center functions as both a healthcare provider and an innovation engine, using its infrastructure to incubate and deploy new technologies with real clinical impact.

As part of Sheba’s commitment to rehabilitation and remote care, the hospital has partnered with XRHealth to deliver immersive therapy programs for neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation. Patients recovering from brain injuries engage in therapeutic games that blend physical movement with cognitive stimulation, an approach proven to increase engagement and accelerate recovery. These immersive experiences are also used to support patients with anxiety, chronic pain, and mobility limitations, offering a more personalized and enjoyable form of care.

In another pioneering collaboration, Sheba has teamed up with Israeli startup 6Degrees to provide motion-based VR therapy for amputees. By using sensor-equipped wearables, patients can control digital limbs in a virtual environment, helping rewire neural pathways, improve coordination, and reduce phantom limb pain. For many, this technology doesn’t just restore function, it restores a sense of independence.

Transforming Care for a New Hybrid World

These programs are especially critical in a post-pandemic world where hybrid and decentralized care models are becoming the new norm. XR tools are enabling Sheba to extend high-quality treatment beyond the hospital walls, whether it’s cognitive rehab at home or remote physical therapy monitored through virtual platforms. This flexibility improves access, enhances continuity of care, and reflects Sheba’s ongoing commitment to patient-centered innovation.

At Sheba, XR technologies aren’t just promises of what healthcare could become, they’re a living part of how care is delivered today. While others talk about what’s next, Sheba is already putting it into practice. “You know, people speak about the future of XR every day,” says Bar. “And we make the future happen here at Sheba every day. Every single day.”