10 Virtual Reality Healthcare Companies Driving Meaningful Innovation for Medical Practitioners

Virtual reality (VR) isn’t just for gaming — or social networking. This rapidly evolving technology is seeing real-world applications across nearly every sector, and even essential industries like healthcare have hundreds of companies incorporating VR solutions for their most pressing challenges.

From developing ground-breaking visualization tech to delivering innovative pain-management therapies, these are the ten virtual reality healthcare companies that every medical professional should keep an eye on.

10 Innovative Virtual Reality Healthcare Companies

• Virti
• MyndVR
• SimX
• ORamaVR
• XRHealth
• Heru
• AppliedVR
• IQVIA
• WAVR
• Perspectus

Virti

Virti delivers interactive video experiences via mobile, desktop, and VR that help healthcare providers develop employee skills. Virti’s platform has an extensive library of simulations that target common scenarios and creator tools that enable users to build custom training content to address specific learning needs. The platform’s feedback functionality is also quite robust, using sentiment analysis to create accurate performance analytics that healthcare providers can use to drive improved learning outcomes. Virti claims that independent research validates its innovative approach: Virti produces 44% lower skill fade and a 230% boost in knowledge acquisition ^[1] .

• Date founded: 2017
• Headquarters: Bristol, England
• Notable clients/partners: National Health Service

MyndVR

MyndVR develops therapeutic VR solutions to improve the functioning and overall well-being of senior citizens across the entire continuum of care. Boasting the “largest library of senior-friendly virtual reality content,”  MyndVR’s immersive experiences help aging adults stay active, connect with others, and deal with challenging limitations. As one user stated , "With Bonnie being 90 and myself being 86, it was difficult to take the trips we used to take. Putting on the headset and suddenly getting to travel together again rekindled that excitement and sense of adventure.”

• Date founded: 2016
• Headquarters: Dallas, Texas
• Notable clients/partners: AT&T, American Senior Communities, and the National Association of State Veterans Homes

SimX

SimX builds VR training solutions for nurses, paramedics, EMTs, and military medical professionals. Like MyndVR, SimX has a comprehensive content library with over 150 patient models, 30 environments, and 300 tools and procedures. And, like Virti, it specializes in custom content, as SimX claims it can deliver tailored scenarios to healthcare providers in weeks at 10% the cost of alternative methods. ^[2] SimX is also one of the few VR training solutions allowing multiple users to work simultaneously on the same case.

• Date founded: 2013
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Notable clients/partners: US Air Force, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern University, University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford

ORamaVR

ORamaVR ’s platform — MAGES SDK — allows healthcare providers and educational institutions to quickly and cost-effectively create high-fidelity VR medical simulations . Developed by a team of mathematicians, surgeons, and scientists, ORamaVR’s technology has received numerous awards from organizations like the Latsis Foundation , Epic Games , and the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons (AAHKS). Reports from users seem to validate this recognition. Josh Tan, a diagnostic radiology professional at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Care Center, noted , “Thanks to its high-quality toolset and capabilities, the MAGES SDK has allowed us to create and author simulations in a very time and resource-efficient manner.”

• Date founded: 2012
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Notable clients/partners: University of Michigan, Western Governors University, and Fayetteville State University

XRHealth

XRHealth uses VR technology, patient analytics, and licensed clinicians to create telehealth Virtual Clinics. These online treatment rooms provide patients with various medical issues with the necessary occupational, physical, and mental health therapy. After using XRHealth’s platform to help treat her stress and shoulder pain, one patient observed that she was “pleasantly surprised by how much of a difference it made… I have much better range of motion, lowered stress, and actually want to take the next step in my healthcare journey.”

XRHealth has been widely reported in the media — mentioned in articles by Time , BBC , and CNET .

• Date founded: 2016
• Headquarters: Brookline, Massachusetts
• Notable clients: United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the Israeli Air Force

XRHealth is one of many companies leveraging VR and XR tech to push the global healthcare industry forward. To learn more about how these technologies can help healthcare providers lower costs while achieving better patient outcomes, watch HTC Vive’s webinar on-demand now .

Heru

Heru develops VR technology that helps eye doctors rapidly diagnose their patients. A two-time winner of CES’s innovation award , Heru’s AI-powered solution supports numerous eye tests covered by insurance — including visual field, color vision, and dark adaptation testing. Doctors experienced with Heru have commented on its efficiency, with one observing that “Heru offers an improved patient experience, more efficient workflows, and accommodates some patients with physical limitations.”

• Date founded: 2018
• Headquarters: Miami, Florida
• Notable clients/partners: Family Eye Care Associates, Kehoe Eye Care, and Advanced Eye Care

AppliedVR

AppliedVR creates immersive therapeutics for chronic pain management. The company has already achieved FDA authorization for its chronic lower back pain treatment — and is now developing solutions for fibromyalgia, post-surgical pain, rheumatoid arthritis, and illness-related distress. Dedicated to clinical research, AppliedVR has partnered with leading healthcare organizations to publish eight studies and has another 18 in the pipeline.

• Date founded: 2015
• Headquarters: Van Nuys
• Notable clients/partners: University of San Francisco, Cleveland Clinic, National Cancer Institute, and National Institute on Drug Abuse

Mieron

Mieron develops VR solutions for neurotherapeutic applications. Designed to help patients of all mobility levels, the company’s solutions combine proven therapeutic techniques, brain science, and VR to treat those suffering from conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy (CP), Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), and traumatic brain injury (TBI). These efforts have earned acclaim, as the company won the CES 2020 Eureka Park Accessibility Contest for building innovative technology that improves the lives of those with disabilities.

• Date founded: 2015
• Headquarters: Long Beach, California
• Notable clients/partners: Medium and United Spinal Association

WAVR

Wide Awake VR, Inc. (WAVR) uses immersive VR experiences to provide a safer and cheaper alternative to sedatives for minor medical procedures. This approach allows patients to continue taking their prescription medications, eat normally before an operation instead of fasting, and drive themselves home after the procedure is complete. WAVR also allows healthcare providers to perform certain operations without preoperative testing.

• Date founded: 2021
• Headquarters: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Notable clients/partners: American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Perspectus

Perspectus leverages VR to build patient-specific anatomic visualizations that enable medical professionals to better prepare patients for surgical operations by reducing anxiety and increasing their confidence in the process. Its tools can also be used by educational institutions to give students a deeper understanding of biological systems and by healthcare companies to accelerate research and development. Perspectus claims its solution has been shown to improve patient retention by 20% and increase the learning of certain key concepts in 87% of medical students. ^[3]

• Date founded: 2020
• Headquarters: Fort Collins, Colorado
• Notable clients/partners: University of Charleston

An industry leader in VR hardware, HTC VIVE has developed powerful headset solutions that can help virtual reality healthcare companies improve their offering with world-class visuals, device portability, and stellar user experiences. Most recently, the VIVE XR Elite . Contact our team of experts today to learn how our tech can upgrade every aspect of your solution.

^[1] Source: Virti, https://www.virti.com/science#evidence

^[2] Source: SimX, https://www.simxvr.com/

^[3] Source: Perspectus, https://perspectustech.com/