VR Health Champions Open Call 2026

VRHealthChampions

Grant Cascade funding

General information

| 開啟日期 | 01 October 2025 | | Deadline model | single-stage | | 截止日期 | 07 December 2025 23:59 (Brussels time) | | 狀態 | Closed | | 預期參與期間 | Maximum 12 months | | 可用總資助金額 | 640 000,00 € |

| 計畫縮寫 | VRHealthChampions | | 歐盟資助計畫全名 | We Are Health Champions - Disrupting the European Healthcare Systems with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Applications | | 授助協定編號 | 101161333 | | 主題 | I3-2023-INV2a - Interregional Innovation Investments Strand 2a |

Submission & evaluation process

Applications must be submitted electronically through the electronic submission form of VR Health Champions website before the closure of the call: https://vrhealthchampions.eu/get-involved/

Applications must be submitted in English using the templates and the form provided on the VR Health Champions website. Proposals must be complete and contain all parts and mandatory annexes and supporting documents as described in the call text.

The call is subject to a single-stage submission and two-step evaluation procedure. The selection procedure will be managed by the VR Health Champions consortium. The consortium will oversee and validate the evaluation process, ensuring consistency of the selection process, and will check there is no conflict of interest, fraud, or double funding.

Proposals will first be reviewed for formal requirements, including admissibility and eligibility. The evaluation will then be conducted by an evaluation committee composed of three independent in-house experts, selected based on their expertise and experience. These experts will perform an independent quality evaluation, ensuring that they are not involved in the implementation of the action and have no conflict of interest. The responsibility for the selection process remains with the consortium.

The top three highest-quality proposals will be invited to participate in a hearing and project selection process. A jury, composed of subject matter experts from the consortium members, will evaluate the presentations and select the final teams for funding.

Remote Evaluation Criteria (100 points total)

1. Relevance and Experience (25%)

1. Relevance of experience to the specific challenge – 10 pts
2. Relevance, ambition, and effectiveness of the proposed approach in addressing the specific challenge – 10 pts
3. Qualifications and experience of the proposed team – 5 pts

2. Methodology and Work Plan (25%)

1. Quality and clarity of the proposed methodology – 15 pts
2. Objectives and extent to which the proposal matches the challenges and specific objectives of the call – 10 pts

3. Feasibility and Risk Management (25%)

1. Feasibility within time and budget constraints; justification of budget and cost alignment with market standards – 10 pts
2. Appropriateness of risk management approach – 10 pts
3. Efficiency of resource allocation – 5 pts

4. Impact and Value Creation (25%)

1. Added value compared to alternative approaches – 10 pts
2. Potential for long-term collaboration – 5 pts
3. Potential for cross-industry knowledge transfer – 10 pts

Hearings Criteria (25 points)

1. Relevance and Experience (5 pts)

2. Methodology and Work Plan (5 pts)

3. Feasibility and Risk Management (5 pts)

4. Impact and Value Creation (10 pts)

Further information

VR Health Champions is a 3-year project aiming at breaking down market, clinical and regulatory barriers in XR healthcare across less developed regions of Central Eastern and Southern Europe, while fast-tracking the advancement of VR/AR applications.

It focuses on five flagship SMEs – Dotlumen, MEEVA, MedApp, Metaskills, and Virtuleap – that are leading this transformation. The project’s outcome is to upgrade their Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for VR/AR innovations from TRL 6 to TRL 9, ultimately creating pathways for future innovations in the sector.

To achieve this, the consortium is seeking SMEs and research organisations with expertise in areas such as clinical investigation, medical imaging, healthcare IT, AI/VR development, regulatory affairs, market research, marketing, UX design, and computer vision. These partners will be strategically matched with flagship SMEs through cascade funding to foster cross-sector knowledge exchange, technology transfer, and interregional value chain development.

In order to participate in the VR Health Champions Open Call 2026 process, applicants have to comply with the following requirements:

1. SMEs as defined by the European Commission in EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC1. Applicants must provide the relevant SME status confirmation template as part of their application.
2. Applicants must be legally established in one of the following: A region covered by the VR Health Champions consortium. A less developed region within the European Union, as defined by the European Commission, where GDP per capita is below 75% of the EU average. An outermost region of the European Union, as recognized under Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

The estimated available call budget is 640.000 €. Each successful applicant SME may receive financial support up to the sum of 60.000 €.

A total of 14 SMEs, one per challenge, will be selected to receive Financial Support for Third Parties (FSTP) under this call for proposals. However, if a suitable SME is not identified for a particular challenge, we reserve the right not to announce a winner.

The financial support to SMEs will be calculated as a maximum 100% of eligible costs, up to 60.000 €, but the applicants may request lower grant rate / grant amount. The approved grant amount to selected SMEs will be provided as a lump sum contribution, subject to proper implementation of the action.

All information about the call is available at: https://vrhealthchampions.eu/get-involved/

Task description

Task description

Applicants are invited to participate in a challenge that supports the market entry, clinical validation, regulatory alignment, or technical advancement of emerging XR and AI healthcare solutions. Each proposal must address one of the specific challenges defined by the flagship SMEs, with applicants expected to contribute their specialised expertise—such as in market research, business strategy, clinical investigation, usability testing, regulatory compliance, data protection, technical development, or AI/VR research—to advance the flagship innovation and strengthen the interregional value chain. Projects are expected to last up to 12 months depending on the challenge and must deliver strategic outcomes, including market readiness, regulatory compliance, commercial partnerships, validated datasets, or prototype demonstrations.

Each applicant SME must identify which flagship SME’s challenge their proposal addresses. A detailed description of the challenges is available in the call text.

The awarded SMEs are expected to:

1. Actively collaborate with the specified flagship SME(s) and participate in relevant meetings
2. Provide the proposed specialised services/expertise to advance the flagship innovation
3. Contribute to building interregional value chains in the XR healthcare sector

Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

Innovation & Market Services

1. Market research, buyer and stakeholder analysis, and competitive benchmarking
2. Business model validation and development of go-to-market strategies
3. Marketing, communication, and partnership-building for commercial adoption

Clinical Validation & Usability

1. Pilot clinical studies and formative usability testing
2. Human factors engineering and workflow integration
3. Radiologist-approved annotation and dataset preparation for AI solutions

Regulatory & Risk Management Support

1. GDPR audits, cybersecurity assessment, and compliance strategies
2. Preparation of VR/AR-specific technical documentation for CE marking and MDR alignment
3. Risk assessment frameworks and verification/validation procedures

Technical Development & Integration

1. Platform development, prototyping, and integration of XR/AI components
2. Digital twin modelling, algorithm development, and on-premise AI deployment
3. Computer vision, navigation (SLAM/VIO), monocular depth research, and wearable system optimisation

Partnership & Ecosystem Building

1. Internationalisation and adaptation of products for new markets
2. Establishing partnerships with clinical sites, resellers, or training organisations
3. Use of test beds and demonstration facilities to validate technical or regulatory hypotheses

The detailed list of eligible activities and deliverables for each challenge is provided in the call text.