Immersive mental health tech developers to benefit from £20m investment
A new supportive ecosystem for UK innovators working on immersive digital mental health therapeutics is being launched.
The UKRI Mindset XR Innovator Support Programme is going to be led by the Health Innovation Network South London it was announced today, with support from collaborators including Health Innovation South West.
The full Mindset extended reality (XR) for digital mental health programme 2022- 2026 is a £20m investment which aims to treat more people with mental health needs by investing in Extended Reality (XR) and other immersive technologies; achieving transformation through the development and scale-up of emerging digital mental health therapies.
Through collaboration with experts across the UK, Health Innovation Network South London will deliver a programme of innovator support including:
- Creating a networking and information sharing platform for potential collaborators.
- Providing advice and expert support to existing and future competition applicants.
- Delivering a programme of outreach and engagement activities to cover the whole of the UK, including the devolved administrations.
- Facilitating knowledge sharing across a community of practice.
- Providing tailored support for larger scale industrial research projects and smaller feasibility projects.
- Delivering a learning package on a range of key topics.
- Driving the conditions for change through industry-wide and health system-wide roundtables.
The collaboration brings together UK wide reach and a set of complementary skills – service user engagement, clinical research design, regulation and digital therapeutics – critical to address the challenge of bringing immersive tech to our population and staff.
As part of the Health Innovation Network, Health Innovation Network South London will collaborate with networks across the country, including Health Innovation South West, Health Innovation North West Coast and Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria. They will also collaborate with:
- Hardian Health
- Hill Dickinson LLP
- The Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI)
- King’s College London
- MQ Mental Health Research
- XR Health Alliance
Dr Rishi Das-Gupta, CEO of the Health Innovation Network South London said: “Immersive technology has the potential to dramatically improve the treatment of those with mental health conditions, which is an area we know has seen increased demand and widening health inequalities.
“Working with Innovate UK and our collaborators across the UK presents an exciting opportunity to make a wide-scale difference.”
Jon Siddall, Chief Executive Officer of Health Innovation South West, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to build upon the existing novel technologies developed in, and deployed across, the South West to support those with mental health needs.
“We are working with our partners in the South West to maximise the impact of research and innovation in mental health care. Mindset’s innovative therapeutics offer promising digital solutions to the mental health challenges experienced by people living within our rural and coastal communities, and will enable us to drive a digitally-enabled health and care sector across our Peninsula.”
