Part III: International Best Practices and Benchmarking the UK's Standing

Global XR Healthcare Leadership Landscape

The international XR healthcare market reveals a complex ecosystem where different regions have established distinct competitive advantages and regulatory approaches. While the UK leads in government-funded XR mental health initiatives, other nations have developed sophisticated frameworks for broader healthcare technology integration that offer valuable lessons for NHS adoption.

In this chapter we initially give a comparative overview of global regions who are accelerating the growth and spread of XR health in a range of different approaches from frameworks, to networks to regulatory transparency. We then dive deeper into specific organisations, health care facilities and academic institutions by region who are notable for their leadership and pioneering work in the XR healthcare field.

European Innovation Networks and Collaborative Frameworks

Europe has emerged as a leader in collaborative XR healthcare research networks, with the Netherlands pioneering cross-border innovation models. The VR4REHAB network represents Europe’s most successful collaborative XR healthcare initiative, operating as an Open Innovation Network across Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, and the UK to stimulate VR-based rehabilitation tool creation. This network has facilitated knowledge exchange through annual conferences focusing on patient-centered XR applications and hackathon - to - development pipelines that rapidly prototype solutions for conditions like COVID-19 rehabilitation.

The European Commission has an established Unit across Direct General Communication Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT), with a subchapter focussed on Interactive Technologies. The group recently commissioned a study led by PPMI titled ‘Virtual worlds - how will they affect our health and wellbeing?’ Whilst still exploratory, there is a focus on creating new processes for understanding, regulating and supporting the development of XR for health and wellbeing at a European-wide level. Key pilot use cases includes:

• VRcome - VR & 360-degree video based mental health programmes for phobias, social anxiety and addiction
• Sensiks - Multisensory pods for stress reduction, corporate wellness and mental health support
• Phobius - Phobiezentrum fur Angest, Panik and Phobien - VR Exposure therapy for phobias and anxiety disorders
• Explore Deep - VR and biofeedback experience with meditation and breathing exercises for anxiety reduction
• Virtuleap Enhanced VR - VR and haptic feedback game with meditative breathing exercises and anxiety reduction
• SIMAR project - VR and drone systems for safe industrial inspections of hazardous environments
• XR Global - VR education and skills training programmes for rural communities
• Soul Paint: VR bodymapping experience for emotional expression and mental health
• Liminal VR - Immersive, AI enabled experiences for emotional regulation, pain relief and to improve health and wellbeing
• MindMaze - MindMotion Go - Immersive software and hardware solutions for neurologist rehabilitation programmes.

Key recommendations from the DG CNECT include:

1. Support healthcare professionals and providers to use and deploy virtual worlds
2. Improve awareness of virtual worlds technologies for health and wellbeing
3. Develop an evidence-based ethical framework for the safe use of virtual worlds with particular attention to consumer grade technology and with respect to use by vulnerable groups
4. Align occupational safety guidelines with the evolving use of virtual worlds technologies in workplaces
5. Address research gaps and improve collaboration by supporting coordinated interdisciplinary research on the health and wellbeing impacts of virtual worlds
6. Create new and improved existing commercialisation pathways for startups and SMEs development health and wellbeing virtual world use cases by addressing structural barriers.

The Netherlands has particularly excelled in translating research into commercial applications. Companies like inMotion VR have developed award-winning platforms such as Corpus VR, which is now used globally by physical and occupational therapists in hospitals and elderly care homes. Dutch institutions like Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam are leading augmented-reality neurorehabilitation research, developing systems that transition from supervised clinic care to digitally supported independent home care.

German Digital Health Application Framework

Germany has established the world’s most comprehensive regulatory framework for digital therapeutics through its DiGA (Digitale Gesundheitsanwendungen) programme. Since 2019, the German Digital Healthcare Act has enabled statutory health insurance to reimburse certified apps, including those utilising virtual reality glasses, through a Fast-Track Process for Digital Health Applications. This framework (although not XR specific) has resulted in over 374,000 DiGA prescriptions, establishing a pioneering model for integrating Digital Therapeutics into healthcare systems with scalable reimbursement strategies. XR uptake via DiGA remains niche compared to CBT or chronic care apps. The DIGA platform requires manufacturers to provide sufficient evidence of positive healthcare effects through retrospective comparative studies conducted in Germany with appropriate comparison groups. This regulatory clarity has attracted international manufacturers while ensuring clinical safety, though some criticism exists regarding the quality of evidence generation within the required one-year proof period.

Asia-Pacific Healthcare Technology Integration

Singapore has demonstrated how national health technology strategies can accelerate XR adoption in clinical settings. Singapore General Hospital has successfully implemented gamified VR nurse training programs, including IV NIMBLE - a virtual reality module for intravenous cannulation training that combines virtual patient avatars, 3D-printed tactile components, and analytics dashboards. The program was backed by grants from the Institute for Adult Learning and SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medicine Innovation Institute.
Australia has established robust regulatory pathways for XR healthcare applications. This has been fasttracked due to a need to find new ways to deliver care and training to remote areas. XRHealth’s VR headset is listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), with specifically designed therapeutic applications that align with NDIS funding criteria. The Australian market has seen successful partnerships between XRHealth and major insurers like BUPA, delivering VR-based physiotherapy, pain management, and cognitive exercises remotely. However, uptake remains early-stage and reimbursement is not yet as systematised as Germany’s DiGA.

North American Regulatory Leadership

The United States has established the most mature regulatory environment for XR medical devices. The FDA maintains an AR/VR Medical Device List identifying devices authorised for marketing in the United States, providing transparency to healthcare providers and patients while fostering innovation through clear regulatory expectations. The US approach includes specific standards from organisations like the International Electrotechnical Commission for near-eye displays and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine for medical displays.
Major US companies like XRHealth have acquired platforms such as RealizedCare to enhance AI-driven therapeutic XR capabilities, positioning themselves as global leaders in personalised XR healthcare delivery. The US market benefits from mature health economic evaluation frameworks, with systematic reviews showing that XR interventions in healthcare demonstrate potential for significant clinical benefits and cost-savings.

Complementing regulatory efforts, the XR Safety Initiative (XRSI) has emerged as a critical standards-developing organisation addressing safety and privacy concerns in XR healthcare applications. XRSI launched the Medical XR Privacy & Safety Framework in 2021, focusing on protecting patient data and ensuring safety in immersive medical domains, collaborating with University of California San Diego researchers. The organisation’s Privacy and Safety Framework sets baseline standards incorporating requirements from GDPR, NIST guidance, and other privacy regulations, providing a regulation-agnostic approach to XR safety. As a 501(c)(3) global non-profit Standards Developing Organisation headquartered in San Francisco, XRSI brings together over 200 diverse multidisciplinary advisors worldwide to address novel cybersecurity, privacy, and ethical risks in XR ecosystems and take a keen interest in healthcare specific needs of the XR safety agenda.

Evidence Generation and Clinical Validation

International approaches to XR healthcare evidence generation reveal significant variation in methodological rigor and regulatory requirements. Health economic evaluations of XR interventions show considerable heterogeneity between studies and often lack clear descriptions of XR interventions, limiting their use in procurement decisions. The need for more clinical trials and rigorous research to establish XR health intervention effectiveness has been recognised by international organisations, with efforts from the Journal of Medical Extended Reality, International Virtual Reality Healthcare Association, Stanford Psychiatry and Immersive Technology Consortium and Medical Device Innovation Consortium.
Clinical efficacy for XR-based therapies has been demonstrated across various specialties and settings internationally, with VR successfully used for pain management and physical rehabilitation in multiple countries. However, barriers persist in committing healthcare professionals to training on these new technologies due to time constraints and the need for curriculum integration. Therefore, without a uniform data standard, or a systemic approach to clinical validation, the uptake of these potentially groundbreaking technologies remain comparatively low.

China: XR in Rehabilitation and Robotics Ecosystems

China is rapidly positioning itself as a global leader in the integration of XR technologies into healthcare, supported by its strength in hardware innovation and large-scale infrastructure. The acquisition of Pico headsets by ByteDance in 2021 exemplifies this trajectory. Pico devices are widely adopted in clinical contexts due to their infection-control-friendly design. At the same time, ByteDance has been expanding into healthcare delivery, acquiring private hospital chains and launching new ventures such as the 800-bed Beijing Airui Hospital, approved in early 2025. While ByteDance has yet to integrate XR directly into its hospital operations, its investments mark a convergence of digital health, hardware, and clinical ecosystems.
Beyond corporate initiatives, XR is already reshaping medical practice across China. Hospitals in Beijing, Hunan, Gansu, Zhejiang, and Fujian are deploying VR for surgical training, patient rehabilitation, psychological therapies, and intraoperative support. Companies like Fourier Intelligence are accelerating adoption with platforms such as the MetaMotus Galileo, which blends VR with biomechanical analysis for rehabilitation, and robotics like the GR-2 that extend XR-enabled clinical applications. Coupled with research from institutions like the China Rehabilitation Research Center, these developments highlight how China is weaving XR into a comprehensive healthcare innovation strategy, bridging robotics, rehabilitation, academic research, and patient care at scale.

South Korea’s Digital Health Leadership in XR

South Korea has positioned itself as an early adopter of XR in healthcare through coordinated national strategies that combine technology investment with hospital partnerships. The government’s Digital New Deal explicitly prioritises immersive training and medical simulation, enabling accelerated development of XR-based curricula across universities and teaching hospitals. Major institutions such as Samsung Medical Center have deployed VR-based rehabilitation programmes for stroke patients and pain management, while Seoul National University Hospital has piloted immersive psychiatric therapies for anxiety and PTSD.

In addition to clinical care, XR is widely used in surgical and nursing education across Korea. Startups such as LudenVR provide VR endoscopy training tools now used in Korean medical schools, while Looxid Labs integrates VR headsets with biometric sensors to support cognitive assessments. The Korean government has backed these developments through targeted R&D funding, creating a supportive innovation pipeline that connects academic research, hospital pilots, and commercial XR applications. This comprehensive approach has enabled South Korea to emerge as a regional leader in immersive medical technology, with growing export potential across Asia-Pacific markets.

Middle East: XR Health Innovation through Virtual Hospitals and Pain Management

In the Middle East, XR technologies are emerging within national health innovation agendas, particularly in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Under the aegis of Vision 2030, the Saudi Ministry of Health launched the Seha Virtual Hospital, a vast virtual care network linking over 224 hospitals and providing more than 44 specialised services. The platform has gained recognition as the world’s largest virtual hospital, earning both a Zimam Award in November 2023 and a Guinness World Record in October 2024. Complementing remote care, XR telehealth tools such as Caregility’s mixed-reality ICU solution have been deployed across 17 Saudi hospitals, delivering around 5,000 virtual intensive-care sessions via the Seha system. In the UAE, Dubai Health is pursuing immersive pain and anxiety relief methods—piloting VR programs in its Thalassemia Centre to reduce procedural discomfort using headset-based distraction techniques, with validation through heart rate and eye-movement metrics. Additional implementations in Abu Dhabi, such as at NMC Royal Hospital, leverage VR for pain management and interactive physical rehabilitation therapies. These XR deployments reflect a region-wide strategy to integrate immersive tech into patient care, training, and telehealth infrastructure.

UK’s Competitive Position and Strategic Opportunities

The UK’s position in the global XR healthcare landscape reveals both significant strengths and areas for development. The £20 million Mindset XR programme represents the world’s largest government investment specifically in XR mental health, positioning the UK as a global policy leader. However, the 30% NHS adoption rate of XR across NHS Trusts suggests implementation challenges compared to more integrated approaches seen in Netherlands rehabilitation centers or Singapore’s systematic hospital deployment.

The UK’s strength in creative industries provides a unique advantage in developing engaging, therapeutically effective XR applications. Projects like Anagram’s award-winning immersive experiences and Soul Paint’s international recognition demonstrate the UK’s capacity to combine artistic storytelling with healthcare innovation. This creative-healthcare fusion represents a differentiating factor that other nations are seeking to replicate.
Drawing on international best practices, the UK can build on its creative strengths and government investment in XR mental health by addressing structural barriers to wider healthcare adoption. The following opportunities highlight where the UK could act decisively:

1. Adopt Regulatory Clarity (Germany)
   – Introduce a streamlined, UK-specific fast-track pathway for digital therapeutics, modelled on Germany’s DiGA, to reduce uncertainty for XR developers and provide clear reimbursement routes for NHS procurement.

2. Establish Cross-Border Innovation Networks (Netherlands / EU)
   – Build EU-style open innovation networks for XR healthcare, reconnecting with international consortia post-Brexit and fostering joint hackathons, trials, and knowledge exchange across borders.

3. Integrate Systematic Training Approaches (Singapore / South Korea)
   – Embed XR into medical, nursing, and allied health curricula nationally, ensuring clinicians are trained at scale. South Korea’s Digital New Deal and Singapore’s hospital-based programmes offer replicable models.

4. Enable Large-Scale Clinical Deployment (China / UAE / Saudi Arabia)
   – Support the Department of Health and NHS national, regional and Trust level bodies in rolling out XR beyond pilots, learning from China’s rehabilitation robotics and Saudi Arabia’s Seha Virtual Hospital in scaling immersive healthcare across multiple hospitals.

5. Leverage Creative-Health Fusion (UK Competitive Edge)
   – Expand on the UK’s unique strength in blending immersive storytelling with therapeutic outcomes, positioning UK XR exports as culturally engaging and patient-centric solutions with international appeal.

6. Champion Global Health Equity (LMICs)
   – Partner with WHO, FCDO, and global NGOs to pilot affordable XR in pain management and training in LMICs. This not only strengthens UK leadership in global health diplomacy but also tests scalable, cost-effective XR models adaptable for the NHS.

Region by Region

North America

United States of America

1. Cedars-Sinai - Cedars-Sinai Medical Center operates a world-leading Virtual Medicine Program under the direction of Dr. Brennan Spiegel that hosts the long-running annual Virtual Medicine (vMed) Conference, now in its seventh year, which convenes nearly 400 international XR specialists and features 60 speakers discussing Medical Extended Reality (MXR) applications, with over 19,000 published studies now supporting VR in healthcare demonstrating its “uncanny ability to calm pain, steady nerves, and boost mental health.” The hospital has conducted extensive clinical research involving over 300 patients across multiple studies, demonstrating that VR therapy achieves a 24% reduction in pain scores for hospitalised patients, with applications spanning from childbirth pain management and pediatric inflammatory bowel disease infusions to anxiety reduction in cancer patients, establishing VR as an effective non-pharmaceutical complement to traditional medicine. Cedars-Sinai maintains a close partnership with the National Institutes of Health through a nearly $4 million NIH HEAL Initiative grant supporting the Back Pain Consortium (BACPAC) VR trial, which is studying 360 patients with chronic lower back pain using three different VR approaches—distraction VR, cognitive behavioral therapy VR, and sham VR—following participants for up to 90 days to monitor pain outcomes and medication requirements. The program’s multidisciplinary approach has established Medical Extended Reality as a new field of mind-body medicine, with applications ranging from helping deliver babies and treating PTSD in soldiers to supporting cancer care, positioning virtual therapeutics as scalable technologies that transform healthcare delivery beyond traditional gaming applications.

2. IVHRA - The International Virtual Reality and Healthcare Association, or IVRHA, is a member-driven organisation, composed of entities throughout the healthcare ecosystem, including technology companies, teaching hospitals and universities, as well as healthcare providers and insurance companies. IVRHA’s mission is to facilitate and support the growth of the virtual reality and healthcare industry as this new computing platform impacts healthcare practitioners and patients alike. Led by Bob Fine in partnership with leading XR healthcare expert, Walter Greenleaf (Stanford University).

Hoag Memorial Hospital - Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has established itself as a nationally recognised leader in Experiential Reality (XR) technology under the leadership of Dr. Robert Louis, Chief of Neurosurgery, opening the dedicated Hoag Center for Advanced Visualisation and Immersive Therapeutics in 2021 with specialised facilities including a Therapy Treatment Room for treating conditions from phobias to PTSD and an Experiential Theatre for virtual surgical fly-throughs and patient education. The hospital has pioneered surgical applications since 2015, with surgeons using 3D modelling and VR tools to “rehearse” complex procedures, reducing surgical time and risk while taking patients on virtual “flights” through their own planned surgeries, demonstrating measurable impact with patient attrition rates falling from 35% to 4% due to improved understanding and satisfaction. Hoag’s maternal health innovation includes NurtureVR, a groundbreaking 32-week perinatal program developed with BehaVR that provides personalised prenatal education, pain management, and postpartum support through VR headsets, allowing mothers to upload their own 3D ultrasound images and customise experiences including skin tones and breastfeeding positions, with functional MRI evidence showing VR’s ability to reduce both emotional and physical pain sensations. Beyond patient care, Hoag has pioneered staff wellness applications, becoming among the first healthcare facilities nationally to deploy CenteredVR mindfulness and stress management programs to frontline workers, particularly COVID-19 unit nurses, demonstrating the hospital’s multidisciplinary approach that has enabled other global health facilities to realise XR’s potential across all hospital settings.

3. Boston Children’s Hospital - Boston Children’s Hospital operates a comprehensive Immersive Design Systems (IDS) program that serves as a full-scale human-centered design lab specializing in XR applications across training, systems engineering, and rapid prototyping to advance patient care. Their XR initiatives span multiple domains including VR learning experiences for surgical training (such as cleft lip repair, pediatric ECMO cannulation, and infant tracheostomy care), patient-facing therapeutic applications for procedural pain distraction and meditation, and family preparation tools for medical appointments and home care procedures. The hospital has pioneered VR-based staff onboarding and competency training, utilizing platforms like Oxford Medical Simulation for nursing education and creating customized 360° virtual operating room environments that help trainees familiarize themselves with clinical spaces and equipment before entering real-world scenarios. Additionally, BCH developed HealthVoyager, a groundbreaking VR platform in partnership with Klick Health that allows pediatric patients to take immersive 3D tours through their own bodies using their individual medical findings, helping bridge the communication gap between doctors and young patients while improving understanding and engagement with their treatment.

4. Stanford & Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital - Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital operates the pioneering CHARIOT (Childhood Anxiety Reduction through Innovation and Technology) program, co-founded by pediatric anesthesiologists Dr. Sam Rodriguez and Dr. Thomas Caruso, making it one of the first hospitals worldwide to implement distraction-based VR therapy across every patient unit for children as young as 6 years old undergoing procedures ranging from IV placements to cancer treatments. The program has scaled to become one of the nation’s largest pediatric VR initiatives with over 150 use cases per month, demonstrating significant clinical impact with 99.5% of patients showing improved cooperation after VR interventions, while adverse events remain rare at under 4% and primarily involve mild anxiety or dizziness. CHARIOT has developed custom VR experiences like “Space Pups” and introduced augmented reality applications showing IV placement procedures, alongside innovative tools like “Sevo the Dragon” that gamifies anesthesia mask breathing, transforming necessary medical procedures into engaging interactive experiences. ArborXR For 3D cardiac planning, Stanford has clinically deployed EchoPixel’s True3D technology in dedicated cardiothoracic surgery suites, which creates life-size interactive holograms from CT and MRI scans that surgeons can manipulate in open 3D space without special eyewear, significantly enhancing understanding of complex congenital heart anatomy and surgical planning—technology that played a crucial role in high-profile cases including the 17-hour separation surgery of conjoined twins.

5. Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, US) - Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Center for Pediatric Trauma Research, led by Dr. Henry Xiang, has developed the innovative VR Pain Alleviation Therapeutic (VR-PAT) featuring the “Virtual River Cruise” game with cooling snow effects, demonstrating in randomized clinical trials that active VR significantly reduces overall pain scores in pediatric burn patients during dressing changes compared to standard care. The lightweight, smartphone-based VR system has expanded beyond burn care to emergency departments, plastic surgery clinics, and orthopedic clinics for procedures like needlesticks and pin-pulling, with providers reporting that procedures are faster and easier to accomplish due to reduced patient anxiety, though the team found the VR games work best with younger children as teenagers often need more sophisticated gamification to maintain engagement. Research insights at Nationwide reveal that VR’s effectiveness operates through neurological mechanisms beyond simple distraction, with studies showing potential for enhanced pain management when patients actively interact with VR environments during painful procedures.

Canada

1. Montreal Children’s Hospital/Shriners Hospital for Children-Canada - Montreal’s Shriners Hospital for Children-Canada has pioneered pediatric VR pain management through a comprehensive four-year research program led by nurse scientist Argerie Tsimicalis, demonstrating that 84% of patients using VR headsets from Quebec-based Paperplane Therapeutics reported positive medical experiences during procedures including IV insertions, blood collection, Botox injections, cast removals, and suture removal. The hospital has fully integrated VR into daily clinical operations with four constantly in-demand headsets, expecting to serve over 15,000 patients in the next five years, while training nurses across multiple departments including plaster rooms, day centers, pre-op clinics and care units to become “VR Champions” who can independently deploy the technology with patients.

2. The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), Toronto - The Hospital has established itself as a leader in pediatric VR healthcare applications under the direction of Dr. Clyde Matava, a staff anesthesiologist and director of eLearning and technology at the University of Toronto’s Department of Anesthesia, who has created “the first VR lab of its kind that’s actually based in a hospital” with two well-equipped rooms for developing custom VR content in-house using HoloLens, Oculus, and Vive technologies. SickKids has demonstrated significant clinical impact through multiple studies, including research with 100 children and 100 parents showing that VR surgical preparation was universally preferred over traditional PowerPoints and videos, with parents suggesting that VR is the technology they want to help prepare their children for surgery, leading to widespread adoption and research implementation across the hospital. The hospital’s comprehensive VR program encompasses medical education with full-scale training rooms for advanced procedures and suturing practice, augmented reality applications using HoloLens for surgical tool enhancement with mapped ultrasound overlays and augmented coaching, and patient-facing applications including the custom-developed ChildLife VR mobile app for Google Cardboard that familiarizes children with operating rooms, recovery rooms, and X-ray suites to reduce pre-procedure anxiety. SickKids has partnered with Samsung to create the Samsung Space, an interactive digital healing room on the hospital’s top floor featuring VR technology, 360 cameras, digital tables and tablets designed as a therapeutic play and recreation area where patients, siblings, and family members can experience virtual trips to outer space and augmented reality mobile games, while the hospital also provides VR goggles as distraction tools during uncomfortable procedures in the Emergency Department.

Europe

1. The XR Health Alliance (XRHA) - XRHA is dedicated to the responsible development, investment and adoption of immersive technologies in healthcare, bridging the gap between industry, research and healthcare to unlock cross-sector innovation and collaboration. The alliance shares best practice and connects inclusive and diverse communities of patients, creators, researchers and healthcare professionals across digital health SMEs, charities, statutory bodies, pharmaceuticals, corporates and private medical insurers. In 2020 XRHA produced “The Growing Value of XR in Healthcare in the UK” report—the first study of its kind—in partnership with NHS England, Health Education England, UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) et al, revealing that while a world-class XR healthcare market is emerging in the UK, more evidence is needed to measure patient benefits and healthcare system value to leverage wider funding and sustainable sector growth. The XRHA report played a central role in establishing the UK’s £20 million Mindset-XR programme. The programme offers a supportive ecosystem for immersive digital mental health therapeutics, facilitating investment in SMEs, knowledge sharing across communities of practice and drives industry-wide conditions for change through comprehensive roundtables and learning programmes.

2. XR4Rehab
XR4REHAB is a Collaboration & Innovation Network that evolved from the original VR4REHAB Interreg Northwest Europe project launched in 2017, bringing together seven European partners to develop VR-based rehabilitation tools through co-creation when VR was still in its early days in the healthcare sector, with no tools specifically designed to enable non-experts and their therapists to safely extend rehabilitation outside the clinic. The network organizes annual conferences (now in its 5th edition), supports research through staff exchanges, webinars, and training materials while facilitating knowledge exchange among researchers, clinicians, innovation managers, and developers worldwide, with initiatives including the “Catch a Rising Star” programme that provides 10 months of non-financial mentoring and networking support to help individuals or small companies in rehabilitation technology advance to the next level. In 2020, XR4REHAB launched a groundbreaking Long COVID support programme through an Interreg grant extension, organising a hackathon in 2021, where 18 teams and 10 individuals from 9 countries competed to develop VR and AR solutions for Long COVID rehabilitation, with the 9 finalist ideas advancing to development jams and the top 3 concepts receiving €50,000 funding each to create prototypes that were tested with 40 long-COVID patients and 15 therapists. The COVRehab study demonstrated that VR is a feasible and effective tool for multidomain long-COVID rehabilitation, leading to the development of scalable, home-based, patient-centered solutions that virtually connect patients and therapists through VR exercise suites integrated with intelligent telehealth tools, addressing the challenge of creating affordable solutions to serve maximum numbers of patients with VR rehabilitation.

3. VR Health Champions - This project is a €7.8 million EIT Health initiative involving healthcare units, research centers, and universities from Italy, Latvia, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Germany, supported by industry leaders like Medtronic to accelerate XR adoption in healthcare across Europe. Co-funded by the Interregional Innovation Investments (I3) instrument under the European Regional Development Fund, this three-year project aims to break down market, clinical and regulatory barriers in less developed European regions and fast-track the advancement of VR/AR applications. Eighteen partners from eight EU Member States, embedded in nine regional ecosystems, will join forces to provide targeted support to five flagship SMEs, driving innovation in medical diagnostics, therapies, and surgeries, while also expanding the European healthcare XR ecosystem through knowledge transfer and funding opportunities.

4. The Mind VR Consortium in Italy is a collaboration between several universities and hospitals across Milan, Rome and Lecco. Commencing in 2020, the program was developed by Federica Pallavicini , Fabrizia Mantovani , and Chiara Caragnano , three psychologists with expertise in the use of virtual reality and video games for psychological well-being. They design, develop and test user‑centred VR programs that offer psychoeducational content for healthcare workers to manage stress and anxiety. Since March 2021, MIND-VR has been being tested as part of a psychological support program for doctors and nurses at the IRCS Fondazione Neurologica Carlo Besta hospitals in Milan and the Gazzaniga Alzheimer’s Center of Excellence – Ferb Onlus . Research is also underway at Niguarda Hospital in Milan to test virtual psychoeducational content for managing stress and anxiety among caregivers of patients with dementia.

5. The Mindset XR Programme - The programme represents the UK’s flagship government investment in immersive digital mental health technologies, launched in 2022 influenced by the recommendations from The XR Health Alliance’s 2020 report “The Growing Value of XR in Healthcare in the UK.” With £20 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), the three-year programme specifically targets the development and commercialisation of XR solutions for mental health applications.

The programme operates through a competitive funding model that supports small and medium enterprises (SMEs) developing XR mental health interventions, with two rounds of funding awarded to date. Round 1 supported companies including AppliedVR, Psious, Oxford VR, and Immersive Rehab, while Round 2 expanded to include TendVR, A.Health, and other emerging companies. Each funded company receives financial support alongside access to a comprehensive ecosystem designed to accelerate product development and market entry.

Beyond direct funding, Mindset XR provides a supportive infrastructure including clinical validation pathways, regulatory guidance, and access to NHS testing environments. The programme facilitates partnerships between technology companies and NHS Trusts, enabling real-world testing and evidence generation. Companies participate in structured learning programmes, roundtables, and communities of practice that address common challenges including clinical evidence requirements, regulatory compliance, and NHS procurement processes.

The programme’s strategic focus on mental health reflects both clinical need and market opportunity. With mental health services in England receiving a record 5.2 million referrals during 2024 and waiting lists reaching approximately 1 million people, XR technologies offer potential solutions for improving access and treatment efficacy. Mindset XR companies are developing interventions for conditions including anxiety, depression, PTSD, eating disorders, and ADHD, with applications ranging from exposure therapy and cognitive behavioural interventions to mindfulness and stress management.

Early outcomes from the programme indicate growing clinical adoption, with several funded companies now deploying solutions within NHS Trusts. The programme has also contributed to establishing the UK as a global leader in XR mental health innovation, attracting international attention and potential export opportunities. However, as the programme enters its final year in 2025, questions remain about sustainable funding mechanisms and long-term support for the ecosystem it has created.

Asia-Pacific (APAC)

Samsung Medical Center & Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (Korea) – In South Korea, leading hospitals are working with industry partners to embed XR into anaesthesia and peri-operative workflows. Samsung Medical Center has introduced immersive VR distraction platforms developed by domestic startups such as LudenVR, whose gamified training and patient-education modules are now used across several Korean medical schools and hospitals. These solutions are designed to reduce anxiety before anaesthetic induction by immersing patients in calming or interactive virtual environments rather than clinical surroundings. Similarly, Looxid Labs, a Seoul-based neurotechnology company, has collaborated on integrating biometric sensors with VR headsets to measure stress responses and tailor immersive experiences to individual patients in real time. At Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, XR has been taken further through the development of a digital-twin operating room, supported by collaborations with technology companies supplying 360° video capture, high-resolution imaging, and metaverse integration platforms. This system enables surgeons and anaesthesiologists to simulate the peri-operative process in VR, improving patient preparation while also serving as a next-generation teaching and remote-observation tool. The hospital has also tested VR products designed for peri-operative anxiety reduction in children, with startups providing custom modules that walk patients through the surgical journey in a playful and interactive manner. These initiatives highlight South Korea’s broader XR healthcare ecosystem, where hospital-industry collaboration—exemplified by Samsung Medical Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, LudenVR, and Looxid Labs—is creating commercially viable XR products that directly enhance surgical safety, patient experience, and clinical training.