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1 July 2024

Innovators from PixellMill, Xpllore, Fix your future, Intercultural Roots, Greater Manchester Mental Health and Greener Games engage in the day. 

Health Innovation North West Coast was proud to host one of the Mindset XR showcases in Leeds on Tuesday 25 June.

It was an exciting opportunity for around 60 health professionals and innovators in the north of England to come together to share and learn about the transformative potential of extended reality (XR) and mental health – with the aim of offering faster, and more cost effective and accessible support for individuals with mental health concerns.

Mike Kenny, our Associate Director of Innovation and Industry Partnerships, opened and closed the programme. Other notable speakers included Penny Day, Chief Operating Officer at XR Therapeutics, Jane Guest, Knowledge Exchange Manager at Innovate UK and Jill Owens, Mindset XR Innovation Support Programme Lead at Health Innovation South London.

Jill said, “It was clear from the energy in the room that there is rapidly growing interest in this nascent field, plus incredible examples of innovation and good practice taking place.”

People representing over 25 digital, mental health and other business consulting companies attended and took advantage of expert presentations, a panel discussion, and networking and product showcase opportunities at various points throughout the day.

Indi Singh, Commercial Programme Manager at Health Innovation North West Coast, says, “This was an exciting event that created a buzz around extended reality technologies like AR and VR (augmented reality/virtual reality) within the north. These are emerging technologies that are providing a lot of benefit to the health care system with further scope to make technological advancements.

“I definitely think this event sparked new interest and excitement within our region. There was a good variety of speakers - clinicians, entrepreneurs, technology experts, systems representatives - who were able to provide their experiences of spread and adoption in the health care system and how innovators can progress their innovations.”

This showcase was a part of the larger Mindset XR Innovation Support Programme, funded by Innovate UK as part of the Mindset Programme, and delivered by Health Innovation Network South London, and partners including Health Innovation North West Coast. Read more about the whole programme, including a regular newsletter on the topic.


Panel session with Mike Kenny, Jane Guest, Penny Day and Jill Owens.

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