Bridging Clinical Assessment and XR-AI Analytics for Spatial Neglect

From 22 to 30 June 2026, Dr Ali Geris undertook a Short-Term Scientific Mission at the Department of Psychology and the MIBTEC facilities of the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca. Hosted by Prof. Daniele Luigi Romano, the mission focused on bridging XR-AI engineering and clinical neuropsychology through a conceptual framework for assessing spatial neglect and related cognitive-motor disorders.

During the visit, Dr Geris held multidisciplinary meetings with Prof. Romano and clinical experts Prof. Roberta Daini, Dr Giorgia Tosi, and Dr Silvia Gobbo, together with technical discussions involving MIBTEC engineers. Conventional paper-and-pencil assessments were critically reviewed, and the specific clinical value that extended reality could provide was examined. The work explored 360-degree assessment of peri-personal and extra-personal space, egocentric and allocentric neglect, auditory neglect, stimuli presented behind the patient, and adaptive modulation of task difficulty and visual saliency. Unity development pipelines and hardware constraints were also reviewed to support the translation of clinical requirements into feasible XR applications.

The mission resulted in a shared conceptual framework linking clinically meaningful assessment parameters with machine-learning-ready common data elements, including spatial, eye, head, and kinematic tracking. An outline for a joint publication was developed, alongside follow-up plans for a targeted literature review, an initial XR prototype, and a preliminary study. The STSM strengthened the collaboration between MCBU XRLab and MIBTEC and contributed directly to NeuroXRehab’s objectives by connecting WG2 assessment priorities with WG4 data collection and sharing goals, thereby laying the groundwork for future multicentre research and European collaboration.

Read the full mission report below: