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.

Bio-Psycho-Social Model

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.

Judy, Karuna pain coach

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

  • Revolutionary

    We pair our proprietary Karuna Virtual Embodiment Training (KVET)™ technology with a compassionate, hands-on coaching approach.

  • Evidence-Based

    Evidence-Based

    We leverage proven neuroplastic pain management techniques and functional rehabilitation methods to develop our program and technology.

  • No medications, no surgery

    Non-Invasive

    The KarunaHOME program is safe and entirely drug-free, with no risk of drug interactions and no need for surgical intervention.

  • Personalized treatment plan

    Personalized

    A dedicated pain coach trained in neuroplastic pain rehabilitation will support your individual needs throughout the entire program.

  • 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.

  • Trusted

    Trusted

    We’ve helped hundreds of people get long-term relief from their chronic pain symptoms. Plus, we’re FDA Registered and HIPAA-Compliant.