A University of Michigan professor is getting national recognition for her research aimed at relieving depression symptoms in people living with multiple sclerosis, and she's doing it not with antidepressants or pharmaceuticals, but with technology and nature.

Hala Darwish, an associate professor with the University of Michigan School of Nursing, says roughly half of people living with MS also deal with depression and anxiety, and while there is data to show a scenic nature walk can be a natural way to relieve these symptoms, that's not always possible if MS limits your mobility. By using Apple Vision Pro virtual reality headsets, she's researching whether or not bringing those walks to them can have the same impact.

"If we can offer them the benefits of nature while they're at home and see if that's going to help their mental health, that's what we're trying to do," Darwish said.

It's an idea that sparked before virtual reality technology was ready to bring real-world footage to VR headsets.

"It lost a lot of resolution; it gave a lot of motion sickness. It wasn't really that great," Darwish said.

That was in 2019, but by 2023, Darwish connected with James Hustler, the man behind the Explore POV app and the solution she'd been looking for.

"That is doing exactly what I want, which is capturing very fascinating nature footage and transferring it into the Apple Vision Pro," Darwish said.

"We've got all this anecdotal evidence that it's actually potentially being a benefit to people's lives and helping them, and I don't have any data to back that up," said Hustler.

Combined, Darwish and Hustler are setting out to find that data not with everyday users, but with people living with MS.

"If we can offer something that is non-pharmacological and it's accessible at home and makes them feel better, that's the idea," Darwish said.

They'll test the idea in a trial over the next several months, monitoring how MS patients with depression and anxiety respond to these virtual nature walks when they're added to their regular mental health treatment. She'll compare them to a group of similar patients who only use VR therapy and another group that only uses traditional mental treatment.

The Nightingale Award, supported by the International Organization of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses and EMD Serono, isn't only putting Darwish's hypothesis in the national spotlight, but it's also providing a $5,000 grant to help fund transportation and incentives for participants in her upcoming trial.