We Are Health Champions - Disrupting the European Healthcare Systems with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Applications

2026-07-22

In order to accelerate the uptake of XR technology in healthcare, VR HEALTH CHAMPIONS aims to reduce the market barriers for healthcare VR/AR applications in less developed European regions by addressing the gaps in the value chains of 5 flagship SMEs, and by learning from the experience, customize innovation support services for other SMEs in the healthcare VR/AR sector. VR HEALTH CHAMPIONS project will upgrade the technology readiness level (TLR) of VR/AR innovations developed by flagship SMEs from TRL6 to TRL9, in the subjects of medical navigation during surgery, therapeutic immersive games, cognitive evaluation, education of medical professionals and students, and VR headset customization for medical use. These use cases will be accelerated by closing the gap in their value chains and by assisting them with new services customized for the XR solutions in order to mitigate the market barriers. VR HEALTH CHAMPIONS paves the way towards 1) closing the innovation gap between developed and less developed European regions, 2) a healthcare sector prepared for the next technological transformation, and 3) to the inclusion of European healthcare XR innovations in healthcare reimbursement systems, through interregional cooperation, new European value chains and mitigation of market barriers, by capitalizing on the various strengths within the partnership. This ultimately contributes to strengthening the position of the participating Member States and the EU in the global health XR market, strengthens the digital competitiveness of the participating regions and creates an opportunity for European health XR solutions to advance on the market.

Portugal

2025-10-15