About us
Press
Can Virtual Reality Help Ease Chronic Pain?
V.R. treatments may provide relief similar to intravenous opioids — a tantalizing prospect for the millions of Americans living with chronic pain.
After an hour-and-a-half bus ride last November, Julia Monterroso arrived at a white Art Deco building in West Hollywood, just opposite a Chanel store and the Ivy, a restaurant famous for its celebrity sightings. Monterroso was there to see Brennan Spiegel, a gastroenterologist and researcher at Cedars-Sinai who runs one of the largest academic medical initiatives studying virtual reality as a health therapy. He started the program in 2015 after the hospital received a million-dollar donation from an investment banker on its board. Spiegel saw Monterroso in his clinic the week before and thought he might be able to help alleviate her symptoms.
OUR TEAM
Lincoln Nguyen
CEO
Jon Weinberg
COO
Andy Riedel
CTO
Dr. James Petros
Chief Medical Officer
Kris Beebe
Physical Therapist
Marisol Castro
Mayan Shoshani
Software Engineer
Cameron McPherson
Software Engineer
Kirke Giedzinski
Logistics and QA
Alex Yeates
Our Clinical Advisory Board
Howard Schubiner, MD
David Smolins, MD
Robert Johnson DPT
Adam Saby,
MD
Howard Edelman
Ramo Naidu,
MD
Rick Paicius
Howard Fields, MD, PhD
Kynan Eng PhD
Ian Cheok
Steve Wiesner, MD
Our mission
Karuna means “compassion” in Sanskrit. At Karuna Labs, our goal is to provide compassionate, evidence-based solutions to help people suffering from chronic pain get the relief they need. Inspired by treating our own family members, we use state-of-the-art digital therapeutics technology paired with personalized coaching to help patients maintain independence, reduce medication, and unlearn their pain.
Our service
Our 12-week KarunaHOME program uses a combination of physical and cognitive training to rewire the brain and provide relief from chronic pain.
During the program, all KarunaHOME patients get:
Unlimited access to our revolutionary Karuna Virtual Embodiment Training (KVET™) technology
A dedicated pain coach certified in functional rehabilitation and neuroplastic pain education for chronic pain patients
A state-of-the-art wireless VR headset rental
The Karuna patient workbook with educational tools, exercises, and practical tips for unlearning chronic pain
Unlearn your pain. Reclaim your life.
Our approach
We use a compassionate, integrative, evidence-based approach to address the biological, psychological, and social factors of chronic pain and support lasting outcomes.
Our team
Every KarunaHOME patient is assigned a personal pain coach to support you throughout the program. Your Karuna coach is a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), and is highly trained in functional rehabilitation and neuroplastic pain education.
Discover the unique benefits of KarunaHOME
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Revolutionary
We pair our proprietary Karuna Virtual Embodiment Training (KVET)™ technology with a compassionate, hands-on coaching approach.
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Evidence-Based
We leverage proven neuroplastic pain management techniques and functional rehabilitation methods to develop our program and technology.
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Non-Invasive
The KarunaHOME program is safe and entirely drug-free, with no risk of drug interactions and no need for surgical intervention.
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Personalized
A dedicated pain coach trained in neuroplastic pain rehabilitation will support your individual needs throughout the entire program.
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Flexible
Sessions can be completed when it is convenient for your schedule. Plus, the entire program is done from the comfort of your own home.
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Trusted
We’ve helped hundreds of people get long-term relief from their chronic pain symptoms. Plus, we’re FDA Registered and HIPAA-Compliant.