About Us
Impactful VR Development
We have a passion to create virtual experiences that make a positive difference in physical health, mental well-being, education, and research. Our product development team is comprised of successful video game veterans. The FireflyVR team combines our extensive experience and science-focused development to build innovative new technologies with health and technology partners. We are honored to collaborate with some of the biggest innovators in the healthcare industry.
What We Do
Virtual Reality and Mental Health
Four in ten adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder during the COVID pandemic. This is just one of many alarming statistics as we face a global and unavoidable mental health crisis. FireflyVR is determined to build new and novel ways to blend technology and therapies to ease this trend.
Vision
Expand accessibility and improve efficacy of mental health treatments through innovation.
Mission
To reimagine behavioral health and digital therapies, wearable biosensor technology, and immersive virtual environments to develop next generation products and improve the treatment of mental healthcare.
Our Approach to Product Development
Clinical Design Methodology
• Clinically-informed design methodology • Extensive consultation with experts and patients • Comprehensive market research and product analysis •
Utilize Our Vast Team Expertise
• Deep experience in healthcare product development • Extensive game development expertise (AAA and #1 App Store titles) • 100+ years experience creating engaging and delightful experiences •
Build for Extensibility & Scalability
• Create modular experiences that are highly adaptable • Develop in Unity to offer technological extensibility across multiple form factors •
Incorporate Biosensors and Signals
• Develop for a wide variety of trackers, biosensors, and input technologies • Ability to filter and record data to gain insight in therapies, bio signals, and patient behaviors •
Current Focus
Ketamine Therapy
Ketamine as a medicine for mental health is a fascinating and quickly emerging field of healthcare, offering great hope for many mental health challenges such as treatment resistant depression. While used as a common anesthetic for over 50 years, Ketamine is being examined under a new spotlight with promising research emerging at an increasing rate. This surge in understanding offers hope at a time when mental health challenges are on the rise, affecting unprecedented numbers of people leading to a global mental health crisis.
Pairing a VR experience with ketamine therapy seemed like a natural combination to develop a tool that increases accessibility and improves effectiveness of the treatment. The FireflyVR team set out to develop the best product to accomplish these goals.
Product Spotlight
Introducing The Sanctuary
The Sanctuary is a Virtual Reality experience built to prepare a patient for a transformational ketamine treatment. It incorporates established techniques used by leading experts to provide a safe, engaging, and comfortable experience to prepare for meaningful therapy. The Sanctuary is a clinically designed solution that combines cognitive behavioral therapy to help reduce pre-procedure anxiety and develop positive intentions when the medicine is administered, ultimately improving outcomes. The Sanctuary is built with modularity in mind as other dissociative medicines become approved and understood beyond ketamine.
We’re working hard with our team of experts to build and scientifically validate The Sanctuary as ketamine treatment becomes readily available. The modular foundation of The Sanctuary allows us to quickly and effectively adapt the experience to target a vast range of indications and therapies. Our initial target to treat treatment resistant depression is only the beginning of a wide-ranging and impactful journey.
Increase Accessibility of New Ground-Breaking Therapies
Improve Efficacy of Treatments
Inspire a Proper Mindset
Provide a Safe and Comfortable Setting
Benefits to the Entire Healthcare Ecosystem
The Sanctuary VR will deliver adjunctive therapy to Patients that reduce their pre-therapy stress and empower self education. Better preparation will lead to improved therapeutic outcomes.
Drug Companies will see benefits by improving efficacy of therapies, increasing competitive differentiation, and providing accretive IP filing opportunities. Use of the product will generate patient data that will enable therapy refinement.
Our product will improve Clinical Networks by expanding access to patients via telehealth. Patient engagement will improve adherence. Data analytics will empower future therapy refinements.
Payors will see a lowered cost of care by improved treatment efficacy and more efficient allocation of resources. Improved access to care will increase patient throughput.
Harnessing The Immersion of Virtual Reality
The Sanctuary immerses a patient in a beautiful setting that is highly conducive to a positive therapeutic session. This allows for more focused, distraction-free sessions to firmly establish a beneficial mindset that can drastically improve ketamine therapy’s’ acute and long term outcomes.
A World-Class Team Delivering Solutions
Our software development team has over 100 combined years of software and game industry experience. Our credits include best-selling games from major studios, award-winning indie releases, widely-adopted physics engines, and fundamental engineering algorithms. Paired with our all-star team of science consultants, healthcare experts, and advisors — the FireflyVR team produces unparalleled product.
Shel Mann
Chief Executive Officer
Entrepreneur and business lead with successful business exits • Crafted multi-year development relationship with UHG, Optum Labs, and others inside healthcare • Working with big names like Atari, THQ, and Universal
Nickolas Miller
Chief Technology Officer
Veteran programmer with over seventeen years of industry experience • Major works including Guitar Hero, Medal of Honor, and Words with Friends
Matthew Gravelle
Chief Product Officer
Over seventeen years of professional video game development • Producer, designer, and UI artist for world-renowned clients and critically-acclaimed mobile games
Marguerite Manteau-Rao
Clinical Product Development and Strategy
Innovating and designing for Digital Therapeutics and Medical VR for 10+ years • Trail-blazed product innovation process at Pear Therapeutics • Served as Director of Clinical Product Development for VR at Penumbra
Sam Kerr
Strategy & Corporate Development
13 years experience in management consulting, corporate strategy and development, investor relations • Founder of Impavidus Consulting Group • Epic Capital Management
Andy Korth
Data and Machine Learning, Senior Engineer
Programmer and designer for over 15 years • Has worked on dozens of titles across multiple platforms • Developed a neural network to detect music notes
Scott Lembcke
Biosignals and Processing, Senior Engineer
Graphics and simulation programmer with over 15 years of experience • Author of physics engines and tunneling algorithms
Charles McGregor
VFX, UI, and Game-Feel
Over a decade of game development experience • Award winning programmer, musician, and artist • Worked on various titles from mobile, console, PC, and VR/AR • Specializes in making things deliciously shiny
Janine Sagert Ph.D
C Patient Experience Consultant, Content Creation
Psychologist, anthropologist, stress management expert, executive coach, filmmaker, meditator, lover of wisdom teachers
Glenn Hartelius Ph.D
Science & Learning Consultant, Content Creation
Psychology researcher, scientific journal editor, professor • Founding chair of a doctoral program in integral and transpersonal psychology
Alexander Cooney
Art and Design Lead
Artist and former Art Director • Supervised dozens of learning games and simulations, helped pioneer VR in STEM training and humanities education
Peter Aslanidis
Sound and Music Engineer
Professional musician 25+ years • Appears on 100s of pop recordings in Europe and Russia • Created music for film, advertisements, TV shows, and video games internationally
Advisory Board
Walter Greenleaf, Ph.D
Chair Of Scientific Advisory Board
Research neuroscientist and medical product developer at Stanford University • Known internationally as an early pioneer in digital medicine and the field of medical virtual reality
Benjamin Wiegand, Ph.D
Advisor
Ben’s focus is to make disease a historical artifact, enabling longer, healthier lives • Current Founding Partner for CWWDA (Connected World W/out Disease Accelerator) • Former global head of WWD Accelerator and VP at Johnson & Johnson • SVP at UHG R&D
David Orbuch
Advisor
Recently retired as COO of UnitedHealth Group Brazil, UHG’s largest business outside of the US • Successfully led businesses on three continents • Core leadership strengths include financial management, strategy development, operational execution, and health care compliance
Lindsay Hoover
Advisor
Managing partner, JLS Fund • Entrepreneur in VR/AR • Expertise in corporate finance, M&A, private placements, valuations • Former Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Department of State
Kyle Rolfing
Advisor
Deep and successful background in the healthcare industry • Co-Founder and President of Bright Health • Founder and CEO of RedBrick Health • Founder and CEO of Definity Health
Brett Atwood, JD
Advisor
Extensive experience building, investing in, and advising healthcare businesses • Chief Development Officer of BioIntelliSense • Former Vice President of Ventures at UnitedHealth Group Research & Development
William (Billy) Weisman
Advisor
Entrepreneur, philanthropist, mind/body/soul practitioner • Scaled several entrepreneurial businesses with emphasis on operations • Several companies sold at high valuation • Partner at New World Ventures with investment focus centered on helping people
Jeffrey Saunder, JD
Advisor
Strong background in securities and corporate finance • Extensive experience across the spectrum of the health care supply chain
Bud Flagstad
Advisor
Senior Vice President of UnitedHealth Group Research & Development • Respected leader in the healthcare technology space • Has held leadership roles in the private equity medical startup space, and financial services industry
Medical Advisors
Dr. Brent A. Bauer, MD
Medical Advisor
30+ year on staff at Mayo Clinic • Founder and Research Director of Integrative Medicine Program • Professor of Medicine • Forefront of combining conventional medicine with complementary evidence-based therapies
Dr. Nafisseh Soroudi, Ph.D
Medical Advisor
Mind-body integrative and regenerative medicine • PhD in Biopsychology • Harvard Medical post-doctoral residency, behavioral medicine • Accomplished healthcare director across medical and clinical affairs • Success in clinical research, product launch, and commercialization
Dr. Raymond Brovont, MD, FACEP
Medical Advisor
Owner of Bloom Health and Wellness • Board-certified emergency medicine physician • Former U.S. Army Major, Brigade Surgeon • Emergency Dept. Medical Director • Integrates holistic approaches to clinical medicine • Pioneering use of VR into his practice
Dr. Christopher Romig, MD
Medical Advisor
CEO Ark Integrative Medicine • Board-certified anesthesiologist +20 years • Pioneer in Ketamine-assisted therapy since 2016 • Early adopter of VR for patient care • Care team utilizes holistic approach in mental health and wellness
Contact Us
We’re always keeping an eye out for impactful new product ideas and interesting new partners. Reach out if you want to learn more or collaborate!
FireflyVR is proudly based out of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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