Could the next big breakthrough in brain health come from virtual reality?
What’s happening:
- Portugal based virtual reality healthcare startup Virtuleap has raised $2.5M USD in a new funding round
- The round was led by GED Ventures Portugal
The big idea:
- Virtuleap has developed a virtual reality technology called EnhanceVR which allows individuals to play short, intense games designed to improve memory, cognitive ability and even spatial orientation
- The collection of games on Virtuleap are developed by neuroscientists and can also gather important data that measures brain activity
Going deeper:
- Virtuleap believes that they may be able to further develop their games to act as a therapeutic for learning challenges such as ADHD
The intrigue:
- Virtuleap is collaborating with pharmaceutical giant Roche on building a new type of technology that uses virtual reality to screen for early cognitive disorders in adults such as Alzheimers disease
By the numbers:
- EnhanceVR is already being used by 60,000 people
- The games developed by Virtuleap are currently available in 5 different languages
- Virtuleap currently has $1.8M in commercial partnerships, including with notable companies such as HP
