New EU virtual reality project aims to revolutionise health care

A new $7.8m programme called VR Health Champions has been launched in the EU with the aim of accelerating the uptake of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

The three-year project plans to break down market, clinical and regulatory barriers and speed up the development of VR and AR, collectively known as XR (extended reality) applications in less developed regions. It will be co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund’s Interregional Innovation Investment instrument.

The programme brings together 18 partners from eight different EU states: Italy, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, and Germany. Together they will work to foster advances in medical diagnostics, therapies and surgery, and to develop the European healthcare XR technology ecosystem through knowledge transfer and funding opportunities.

SMEs bring expertise in medical technology

The 18 partners include research institutes, universities and industry leaders, including Medtronic Portugal and Medtronic Ibérica SA, the Hungarian Syreon Research Institute, RTE Lab, and the European association XR4Europe.

Five of the partners are small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the field of medical technology:

• Lightspace, a Latvian company, is developing breakthrough multifocal displays – a unique human-centric 3D visualisation hardware and supporting software, to create customised AR-enabled solutions in healthcare.
• MEEVA, from Italy, is developing innovative therapies for teens with neurodevelopmental disorders. Its Zentastic VR platform combines immersive multiplayer games and ML-based biometric analytics to help therapists track stress levels and improve social skills.
• MedApp, a Polish medtech company, has developed CarnaLife Holo, which uses XR glasses for preoperative planning and surgical support. The company will further develop the glasses to enable real-time tracking of surgical tools within XR. MedApp will cooperate with Lightspace to develop a solution for surgical navigation and visualisation of hidden anatomical features.
• Metaskills, a Polish start-up, is focused on developing soft skills for managers using VR & GenAI. As part of the VR Champions project, it provides training for health care professionals, including management skills for leaders and feedback skills for better patient communication. The platform offers real-time interactions with 3D avatars, simulating authentic conversations and providing instant feedback, much like a session with a professional coach.
• Virtuleap, from Portugal, develops VR solutions for cognitive assessment, training and monitoring. Its new product, Cogniclear VR, offers cognitive assessment in VR, based on neuropsychological validated tests, and the VR Health Champions project will accelerate its testing and validation.

Cristiana Costa, a project co-ordinator from the Instituto Pedro Nunes in Portugal said: “Our goal is to not only support these flagship companies but to scale XR healthcare innovation across Europe. By engaging additional SMEs through cascade funding, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and aligning innovations with patient and provider needs, we aim to enable faster market entry and greater impact on patient care.”

Peter Nagy from EIT Health InnoStars, one of the 18 partners, said the partnership would help address the technological gap between the less innovative and more advanced regions of Europe. “While AI and XR ecosystems are expanding, companies in Central Eastern and Southern Europe face challenges like limited awareness among healthcare professionals and a shortage of skilled talents. Through this project, and in collaboration with partners from EIT Health network, we aim to level the playing field by offering targeted support and expertise.”