Mayor’s funding to harness video game technology for healthcare

World-leading gaming and immersive technology companies based in the West Midlands are being backed by mayor Richard Parker to help modernise health services and get more people back into work.

The first-of-its-kind XR (Extended Reality) Health and Wellbeing Hub is one of eight regional projects being supported in the latest round of Mayor’s funding from the West Midlands Innovation Pogramme (WMIP).

The hub will bring together health chiefs and the creative sector to unleash the untapped potential of gaming and entertainment tech to create virtual worlds that deliver therapies for mental health, neurological conditions and rehabilitation.

The innovative new partnership aims to cut waiting times for these life-enhancing treatments, boost clinical capacity and prevent thousands of lost working and learning hours.

West Midlands Health Tech Cluster (WMHTC), delivered by Medilink Midlands, and Create Central will run the hub, with Birmingham City University as a key academic partner, alongside additional funding and support from the NHS, top gaming studios, and other innovative health and tech industry experts.

Health and med-tech is one of five high-growth sectors identified in the Mayor’s Growth Plan as having the most potential to turbocharge the regional economy and create thousands of new highly skilled, well-paid jobs for local people.

The mayor said: “This region has been at the cutting-edge of medical breakthroughs for decades, from the first X-ray to the invention of the pacemaker. Innovation is in our DNA.

“Today we’re looking to a new generation of tech trailblazers from Digbeth’s creative quarter to Warwickshire’s ‘Silicon Spa’ to take that legacy to the next level.

“The same world-leading gaming and entertainment technologies that captivate millions of people around the world are now being used to break down barriers to the health and prosperity of our people and economy. The potential is huge and that’s why I’m backing their talent and tech all the way.”  

There are around 45 XR and immersive tech businesses in the West Midlands, employing more than 3,000 people and worth almost £200m a year to the regional economy.

They make up a much bigger digital health sector that has already identified immersive tech and gamification as a key growth area.

The mayor visited one of those companies – Birmingham-based The Antser Group, to see how its immersive technology is already helping to transform training for social workers, occupational therapists and other care professionals. The technology is even being used to help young people understand the dangers of knife crime and the influence of social media.

The company, which employs 75 people, is now developing new Virtual Reality (VR) content for therapeutic and educational purposes, in particular supporting young people who have ADHD and autism.

Other projects being supported with WMIP funding are:

• CreaTech Frontiers European Exchange to unlock international growth opportunities for creative and digital businesses, Coventry University
• AI-Assisted Innovation pilot to support regional SMEs in embracing emerging AI technologies to attracting external funding, Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies
• Cyber Clinic project designed to boost SMEs’ cyber resilience, Aston Centre for Cyber Security Innovation
• Robotics Adoption in the Midlands Programme to promote the growth potential of robotic automation, University of Birmingham
• Traction: Innovation Commercialisation Sprint to help creative tech and digital businesses commercialise their products and services, Form Leadership
• Service Business Innovation Accelerator to support innovation in services sector, PitchHub
• ChoreoLab LIVE – a project to help young dancers to become digital entrepreneurs, Eloquent Dance

Pictured: Mayor Richard Parker with the team from The Antser Group / Cornerstone VR Mohammed Hussain, chief revenue officer, Serena Hadi, head of operations and practice, Amy Callaghan, chief operations officer, chief executive Richard Dooner and Emma Yeap, WM Health Tech Cluster manager at Medilink Midlands