Welcome to NeuroVR Hack!

Welcome to McGillXR’s NeuroVR Hackathon 2025, where innovation meets collaboration! We are excited to present a range of challenge areas to inspire and challenge participants.

Challenge Streams

1. Rehabilitation

Description: Leverage neuroscience and virtual reality (VR) technology to develop innovative solutions for rehabilitation and societal integration. The focus is on creating VR-based tools that enhance recovery from neurological conditions (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury) and support individuals in reintegrating into daily life. Participants will explore how VR can stimulate neuroplasticity, improve motor and cognitive functions, and foster social skills, addressing both physical and societal barriers.

VR's immersive, customizable environments make it ideal for rehabilitation by simulating real-world scenarios in a controlled, engaging way. It can adapt to individual needs, provide real-time feedback, and motivate users through gamification, overcoming the monotony of traditional therapies. Neuroscience research shows VR can enhance brain reorganization and skill retention, while its interactive nature supports social reconnection.

Examples/Resources:

• Example 1: Improve accessibility of VR for certain clinical populations, use VR to address a social bias or mental health issue.

• Example 2: Create a mindfulness immersive therapy for relaxation/anxiety.

• Example 3: A VR platform simulating workplace tasks to retrain motor skills for stroke survivors, integrating biofeedback from brain activity.

• Example 4: A virtual social hub for individuals with brain injuries to practice communication and build confidence in safe, guided settings.

2. Education and Exploration

Description:

Combine neuroscience and virtual reality (VR) to revolutionize scientific education. The goal is to create VR experiences that deepen understanding of the brain and nervous system, making complex neuroscience concepts interactive and accessible to students, researchers, and the public. Projects should inspire curiosity, facilitate hands-on learning, and enable exploration of neural phenomena in innovative ways.

VR allows users to visualize and interact with abstract neuroscience concepts, like neural networks or brain anatomy, that are difficult to grasp through traditional 2D media. Its adaptability supports personalized learning paces, while real-time simulations of brain processes enhance comprehension and retention. VR also bridges the gap between theory and experimentation, offering a safe, scalable platform for exploration without physical constraints.

Examples/Resources:

• Example 1: Create a game or experience supporting citizen science in neuroscience.

  • https://borderlands.2k.com/news/borderlands-science/

• Example 2: Explain a scientific topic using an immersive experience (e.g., visualize brain anatomy or neuroscience concepts).

  • Biosignal visualization

  • Study aid

• Example 3: Build a VR "Brain Lab" where users dissect a virtual brain, zoom into cellular-level processes, and simulate experiments like altering neural firing rates.

• Example 4: Create a VR timeline of brain development, letting users explore brain development from embryo to adulthood.

3. Pediatric Care

Description:

This challenge stream focuses on the unique needs of children. The objective is to design VR solutions that support diagnosis, treatment, and emotional well-being for young patients, such as those with epilepsy, autism, or cerebral palsy. Projects should leverage VR to engage children, reduce anxiety, and enhance therapeutic outcomes tailored to pediatric development.

VR's game-like environments engage children, making it an ideal tool for distraction during medical procedures or motivation in therapy. Its adaptability allows customization to developmental stages and individual conditions, while neuroscience-backed VR interventions can stimulate brain activity and improve motor or social skills. The immersive nature also provides a safe space for kids to process emotions or practice real-world scenarios, reducing stress in clinical settings.

Examples/Resources

• Example 1: Develop a VR adventure game that distracts children during MRI scans, using calming visuals and biofeedback to monitor and ease anxiety.

• Example 2: Create a VR therapy module for autistic children to practice social interactions with virtual characters, guided by real-time neural responses.

• Example 3: Design a VR rehab program for kids with cerebral palsy, blending fun physical challenges (e.g., catching virtual stars) with exercises to boost motor coordination.

4. SilicoLabs Challenge

Description:

Join the SilicoLabs challenge to explore new frontiers in behavioural research!

SilicoLabs Intro + Challenge Overview

SilicoLabs builds tools that capture and decode behaviour to reveal the foundations of human and AI learning, decision-making, and actions.

For this challenge, you'll leverage Labo - a tool built for scientists, made for everyone - to design an interactive experience deployed on XR devices.

Experiences built using Labo capture rich behavioural data, like hand, face, and eye-tracking, as well as data from biosensors like EEG.

Prize: Personalized tour of the SilicoLabs office, lunch with the team, and temporary subscriptions to Labo.

Challenge Details:

The purpose or goal of your experience is your choice; for example, rehabilitation, skill assessment, cognitive testing, interactive storytelling, games, or workplace simulations. The sky is the limit!

However, you must use the behavioural data to create real-time dynamics during the experience. For example, you could adjust the difficulty of a task based on gaze duration, provide real-time feedback based on hand movements, or create adaptive environments that respond to user interactions.

In addition to using the data in real-time, the winning team must also develop (and present) some form of data analysis post-experience. For example, a bar chart showing how often users picked up particular objects, eye gaze heat maps, or a 3D representation of body movement.

Happy hacking!

5. Cooperathon Challenge 2025: Healthy Futures

Available in French (FR) and English (EN)

Background:

Canada's healthcare system faces persistent challenges: long wait times, uneven service distribution (particularly in rural and remote areas), and limited access to mental health care. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored systemic inefficiencies and highlighted the need for innovative, technology-driven solutions that prioritize patient wellbeing.

Key Issues:

• Extended wait times and resource allocation inefficiencies lead to delayed or suboptimal care.

• Gaps in mental health services, especially in under-resourced communities.

• Lack of proactive, preventive care models that reduce chronic disease burdens and emergency care reliance.

Challenge as part of Cooperathon 2025:

How can we leverage AI, data analytics, and innovative technologies to improve access, efficiency, and patient outcomes within Canada's healthcare system, including mental health services, ultimately fostering a healthier population?

Goals/Desired outcomes:

• Expanded Access via Telehealth & AI: Develop AI-enabled telemedicine solutions that reduce wait times and bring care closer to patients, including mental health support.

• Optimized Resource Allocation: Use data-driven triage and scheduling to improve hospital/clinic workflows, reducing bottlenecks and critical delays.

• Proactive, Preventive Care: Implement predictive analytics to identify at-risk populations, support chronic disease management, and encourage early interventions.

Prize: $300

6. Queen's University: School of Medicine Prize

Background:

A current challenge facing medical education is the scarcity of clinical exposure in the pre-clerkship years, making it difficult to acquire and refine skills such as taking a focused history, conducting focused physical exams, identifying abnormal findings, generating the diagnosis, and outlining the next steps of care. Virtual reality is poised to improve the accessibility of medical education, allowing students to practice their clinical skills anytime, anywhere.

Task: Improving Clinical Skills Medical Education with Virtual Reality

Your task is to generate a virtual reality simulation of one patient care experience, focusing on the physical exam portion. It can be for any medical condition, but preferably one that is more common (see addendum).

Required Features:

• Provide the user with a history stem containing relevant details (e.g., history of presenting illness, symptoms, risk factors, family history, social history, etc.)

• Get the user to perform a relevant physical exam to elicit findings. Have the VR patient demonstrate these findings. Ask the user to identify abnormal findings.

  • E.g., if someone has aortic stenosis, make sure that when the user goes to listen to their heart, they can hear the murmur associated with aortic stenosis

• Give the user the opportunity to generate a differential diagnosis (i.e., a list of possible conditions that the patient may be suffering from). Ask them what their next steps would be.

Additional Information:

This project has been endorsed by the Aesculapian Society at Queen's University School of Medicine. Winners will receive a $50 gift card and will be credited. The purpose is to demonstrate to the medical school's administration how VR can be incorporated as a supplementary resource to the current clinical skills curriculum and is a tool that should be available to all students. Winning project(s) will be iterated and trialed with medical students at Queen's University.

Intellectual Property:

Winning teams will be the owners of all intellectual property (IP) rights for the projects they produce during the hackathon. If winning teams choose to continue work with the Aesculapian Society on iterating the project into a final, deployable scenario, IP ownership will be discussed further.

Prize: $50 and the opportunity to continue working with Queen's University: School of Medicine

• Technical Complexity
  Project demonstrates technical skills and addresses technical challenges.
• Functionality
  Project is functional and components work smoothly.
• Creativity and Innovation
  Project proposes novel concepts or solutions.
• Art and Audio
  Art and audio quality, distinctiveness, and the extent to which it enhances the user experience.
• Delivery (Pitch)
  States the project's strengths and value propositions clearly and persuasively.
• Project Demonstration
  Demonstration successfully shows project functionality, potentially highlighting key features or use cases.
• Impact
  Project has far-reaching impact or addresses critical problems.
• Written Summary
  Provides an overview of the project, including main objectives and goals.