The UK Research and Innovation unit has revealed a series of new digital therapeutic solutions to receive a share of £3 million in funding.
The projects feature a range of immersive technology including VR, remote touch and mobile gaming. They are intended to support conditions such as bipolar disorder, psychosis, autism, dementia and anxiety.
“Delivering therapies via VR can achieve outcomes two to three times faster than traditional treatments, can cut wait times, improve access to services, and reduce the severity of symptoms,” UKRI said.
With a budget of £20million, the Mindset programme seeks to grow the UK’s immersive digital mental health sector by “investing in projects which deliver immersive digital mental health therapeutics”. It also looks to “create a supportive ecosystem which will help companies bring these innovations to market”.
George McGinnis, Innovate UK’s UK Research and Innovation Healthy Ageing Challenge Director, said: “These new tools provide clinicians the ability to deliver a more engaging experience, improve access to care and enable those clinicians to see and treat more patients effectively. The UK has a huge talent devoted to developing immersive digital experiences and applying this to create novel solutions for mental health could be a real game-changer.”
The innovations in the programme include:
NeuroXRFitness by Mediprospectsai Limited
Mediprospectsai Limited describe their NeuroXRFitness project as “a game-changing AI-enabled and gamified XR technology for digital mental health using music therapy”. From the companys’ website, Mediprospectsai’s mantra is as follows: “We are on a journey to solve the world’s toughest problems that can’t be solved with traditional practices. At MediprospectsAI, we have scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs who have a passion to innovate technology for any industry. ”
The company works on AI and data solutions, implementing these solutions across industries including healthcare, education, business intelligence and construction.
XR cognitive defusion experience by Good With Limited
Good With’s XR cognitive defusion experience is said to help with building financial wellbeing in young adults, and presents a personal AI money coach, in the form of an app, which allows users to take control of their financial wellbeing.
With features including a chatbot to answer questions and discuss money-related goals; the project hopes to help users enhance their financial wellbeing and to make better financial decisions, reducing their anxiety around money.
M-Fit by Neuhealth Ltd
Neuhealth’s project aims to improve the wellbeing and mental fitness of people, as well as the productivity of companies. The company looks to make the latest in Parkinson’s and dementia care accessible for all. The company website notes:”Neu Health enables clinicians, care givers and patients to tackle this growing challenge with cutting-edge digital technologies designed to make the latest care accessible for all, improving outcomes today and accelerating future breakthroughs.”
The platform includes patient-centric app-based remote monitoring, remote clinician-guided management, and AI/machine learning and analytics for progression monitoring.
SpiritVR by Scenegraph Studios Ltd
SpiritVR is a VR application designed by Scenegraph Studios Ltd to help mental health and wellbeing. Marketed as “Virtual Reality for happiness”, the project hopes to tackle society’s issues through building VR experiences.
The company’s website reveals a series of VR worlds and experiences, helping users to develop skills in mindfulness, box breathing, public speaking and more. It also offers sensory rooms, designed for diverse audiences.
Within Touching Distance by Zecora Ura Theatre
Within Touching Distance is a patient-led artwork developed by Zecora Ura Theatre, which focuses on “scaling empathy through patient-centred affective touch”.
Zecora Ura’s website speaks on the success of various similar projects over the last couple of years, and the company’s success in building a reputation for “creating interactive performance”.
WAVE by I2 Media Research Limited
WAVE is a project from I2 Media Research Limited, which is focused on designing ways to help people in managing cognitive, emotional and physical anxiety symptoms.
The company notes on its website: “We develop and test ideas, concepts and prototypes through engagement with consumer end users, working hand in hand with our clients to inform new product development opportunities and product optimisation.”
Recent similar projects have involved an evaluation of immersive user experience (VR, AR, etc.), and symbiotic mind computer interaction for information sharing.
VR in mental health and elderly care by Recreo VR Ltd
Recreo VR’s project aims to tackle mental health issues and improve wellbeing within elderly care.
From the company’s website: “Our mission is to broaden the horizons of residents in the care sector through fun and engaging VR experiences.”
Recognising the social isolation often experienced amongst the elderly, the company harnesses VR technology to “allow residents to enjoy new experiences and revisit places from their past”.
TheraVR by Vision 3 Ltd
TheraVR is a project launched by Vision 3 Ltd which creates a “closed-loop mixed reality interface offering highly personalised mental health solutions”.
The company’s website details their experience in harnessing technology to complete projects across a range of different fields. “With an emphasis on using the best ‘tools for the job’, Vision3 explores how all forms of the latest 3D techniques (including native 3D filming, post conversion, stereo rendering and hybrids of all three) can be used to present a new way to tell stories and enhance the excitement & impact for audiences.”
Staying Well XR by Animorph Ltd
Animorph’s Staying Well XR project incorporates wearable VR software which allows users to explore their “‘relapse signatures’ and coping strategies with and without a therapist”.
Animorph’s website covers previous projects including improving attention in brain injury survivors and improving the speaking confidence of young people.
NeuroWellbeing Immersive Tech by Brainspark Games Ltd
Brainspark Games’s NeuroWellbeing Immersive Tech focuses on AI-enabled, augmented reality 3D open-world and immersive educational mobile games.
The company has been working toward the goal of making education more fun and accessible for all, building an adverse of educational mobile games. It’s website notes: “That’s why we use technology and gamification to create fun, immersive educational games that help children learn while having fun. Our evidence-based approach to game development ensures that our content is both accurate and culturally nuanced, helping to make education more inclusive and equitable for all.”
Spatial Audio for Managing Mental Illness by Elucidare Limited
Elucidare Limited’s project looks at spatial audio for managing mental illness, focusing on the possibilities of detecting, tracking and isolating sound sources “with no prior knowledge of their presence, number or location”.
From the company’s website: “We are a Belfast based studio whose aim is to design, develop & deploy meaningful brand and digital experiences through exploration, experimentation and collaboration.”
Group CBT in the Metaverse by Blying Limited
Blying Limited’s project is an AI-based platform delivering group cognitive behavioural therapy in the metaverse.
Mixed reality submergence technology as a complimentary therapeutic mental healthcare solution by Squidsoup Limited
Squidsoup’s project involves the implementation of mixed reality submergence technology as a complimentary therapeutic mental healthcare solution.
The state: “Our work combines physical and dynamic digital spaces with novel and intuitive forms of interaction to produce immersive, responsive and beguiling experiences.”
Squidsoup described submergence as “a large, immersive, walkthrough experience” with “many thousands of individual points of suspended light to create feelings of presence and movement within physical space”.
The Sandbox by Get Cerebral Limited
The Sandbox is a VR internet-based CBT solution for children and young people in South Staffordshire.
From Get Cerebral Limited’s website: “The Sandbox is an ‘online hub’ for children and young people in South Staffordshire and Hertfordshire where they can feel safe and take care of their Mental Health.”
VR immersion in overcoming social anxiety by Virtualspeech Ltd
Virtualspeech Ltd’s project aims to help individuals to overcome their social anxiety, utilising VR immersion technology.
The company has been working on a range of VR training, including scenarios where individuals can practice giving presentations, storytelling, and improving eye contact. Its website speaks of success in using VR to enhance soft skills, “resulting in an effective way to practice public speaking and build skills and confidence for the real world”.
Hark by Chaotic Order Ltd
Chaotic Order Ltd’s project is a VR-based interactive narrative game and meditation app hybrid, designed to help with digital addiction in young people.
VR software for SAD by Tycho Medlink Limited
Tycho Medlink’s project is VR software designed for people with seasonal affective disorders, to help improve quality of life.
From the company’s website: “By combining Augmented Reality and real-world evidence in our easy-to-learn app, we deliver clinically proven, personalised brain exercises that help people regain cognitive, problem-solving, attention, and many more!”
The company has also been working on cognitive exercises for stroke patients, designed to help with cognitive impairment and memory loss.
AR and AI-driven analytics to personalise wellbeing by Play Well for Life Ltd
Play Well for Life Ltd’s project uses AR and AI-driven analytics to personalise wellbeing content within a social board game context.
The company website notes: “By using cutting edge technology, our games deliver personalised experiences, developing the specific skills individuals need, whilst immersing people in enjoyable, shared experiences.”
The company has worked on similar projects using a gamified approach to help users develop emotional skills and emotional literacy.
VR for accessible treatment of phobias and anxiety by XR Therapeutics Limited
XR Therapeutics Limited’s project presents a new VR platform offering accessible treatment of phobias and anxiety.
The company’s website has the following to say about their approach: “By combining traditional Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Virtual Reality, our therapists can recreate scenes tailored to the patient’s individual needs. The unique treatment can be adapted by the therapist in real time, they have complete management of the rate of exposure to the phobia, controlling the volume or pace of the chosen scene.”
Improving Service Access using Virtual Exposure (iSAVE) by Cineon Training Limited
Cineon Training Limited’s project involves the use of virtual exposure to improve service access.
From the company’s website: “We apply cutting edge research and adopt immersive technologies such as VR simulation to understand and optimise human behaviour in safety critical and high pressured environments.”
The company has also been working on projects including in eye tracking and behavioural training.
Inside Mental Health by We are Anagram Limited
Inside Mental Health is a project designed by We are Anagram Limited to provide an immersive training tool for stand and clinicians, which demonstrates the experience of various mental health issues, thus improving empathy toward patients.
The company website adds:”Anagram Studio draws on expertise in narrative design, software development and CGI workflows offering the versatility to produce a wide range of projects – from immersive light mapping to mixed reality experiences.”
VR to aid self-management of people awaiting mental health treatment by Syncvr Medical UK Ltd
Syncvr Medical’s project focuses on using VR to promote self-management amongst people waiting for treatment for a range of mental health conditions, or suffering from mental health symptoms.
“SyncVR Medical aims to improve healthcare with extended reality through the largest XR healthcare platform in Europe, offering a library of medical XR software applications. Such as applications to decrease pain, anxiety, and medication, or to train medical professionals through XR training simulations,” the company website states.
The company has also worked to develop XR solutions for reducing pain and anxiety, as well as in improving physical and mental health.
VR-MELODY by Rescape Innovation Limited
Rescape Innovation Limited’s project, VR-MELODY, uses a combination of music and AI to “advance DR.VR(TM) and co-create a personalised VR solution to reduce anxiety and build mental resilience in adults.
From the company’s website: “Decades of evidence has shown how VR can help in many healthcare specialisms. VR is catching the imagination of clinicians across the globe with an increase in published scientific papers on the topic, rising by more than 50% in a single year from 2019 to 2020 with a focus shifting to implementation within healthcare settings. Rescape’s mission is to deliver practical, evidence-based, solutions that reduce pain and anxiety today across the UK.”
Empathy-XR by Oxford Dynamics Limited
Oxford Dynamics Limited’s project, Empathy-XR, is designed as an immersive AI-based tool for improving mental health and wellbeing.
“Oxford Dynamics is developing a range of next-gen AI based tools that process data in a much more human-like way. This reduces cognitive burden and uniquely maintains the value of complex data that is often lost with conventional data processing techniques, especially with visual data,” the company states.
The company is working on a range of AI-based tools to help solve data processing challenges, including real-time understanding of multi-modal data and AI-enabled space situational awareness.
VR hypnotherapy for anxiety by Phase Space Ltd
Phase Space’s project presents VR hypnotherapy as an early intervention for anxiety in students and young people.
From the company’s website: “Phase Space’s unique approach uses VR to supercharge stress and anxiety relief in minutes, with effects that last. Driven by cutting-edge innovation, it combines immersive technology, world-class content design and evidence-based therapeutic techniques.”
InsideOut XR by Insideout 25 Limited
InsideOut XR is Insideout 25’s project, featuring the use of AR and VR to provide psychoeducation and mindfulness-based intervention self-help tools.
The company website adds: “We aim to reimagine how the workplace can empower employees to look after their mental health using innovative, accessible and on-demand support.”
Planet WellBeing by Pixelmill Ltd
Planet WellBeing is a project by Pixelmill, which uses extended reality to improve mental health and tackle loneliness.
The company is also working on projects in fitness, architecture and travel.
Virtual Choirs in Care Homes by Care Reality Limited
Care Reality’s project uses a networked XR therapeutic singing intervention to improve mental health.
From the company’s website: “Now, we are focused on pioneering a comprehensive, immersive learning and assessment solution through VR, bringing unprecedented education access to care workers. Learners will be present in an interactive 3D environment, enhancing their skills through dynamic scenarios and situations.”
Mentis by Cocoon Wellbeing Limited
Cocoon Wellbeing’s project, Mentis, is building “an AR or VR digital service delivered through a smartphone that incorporates state-of-the-art cognitive-behavioural science and neuroscience”.
To learn more about the funded projects, please click here.
