The global cost of cognitive disorders has surpassed $1 trillion, a staggering figure that highlights a deeply personal challenge for hundreds of millions of individuals. The key to tackling this crisis lies in early detection, as the signs of neurodegeneration can appear up to 20 years before clinical onset. But how can we see the invisible?

Wandering through Web Summit 2024, it’s rare to find a company that feels like it’s genuinely from the future. That was my experience at the Virtuleap booth (B224). This pioneering Portuguese startup is using Virtual Reality not just for entertainment, but as a powerful clinical tool to diagnose, delay, and enhance cognitive health .

🔍 The Problem They Solve

• Delayed Diagnosis: Traditional cognitive assessments can be subjective and often happen too late. There’s a critical need for tools that can detect subtle changes much earlier.
• Limited Data from 2D Tools: Standard screen-based brain training apps fail to engage the whole body and collect limited data, restricting their clinical effectiveness
• Poor Patient Engagement: Traditional tests can be stressful and tedious, leading to low adherence and the “white coat effect”.

💡 How Virtuleap Works

Virtuleap has created a library of engaging VR brain training games that are scientifically designed as translations of standardized neuropsychological assessment tools like the Stroop Test and N-Back Task.

✅Next-Generation Data Collection: Unlike 2D apps, VR is a multisensory experience that tracks the whole body. In a single 3-minute session, Virtuleap collects over 220,000 data points, creating rich “volumetric datasets”.

✅AI-Powered Analysis: These massive datasets are mined using machine learning to create “digital phenotypes”—detailed profiles of a user’s cognitive state that can help detect the early onset of cognitive illnesses years before they would otherwise be noticed.

✅Clinically Validated: The platform assesses seven key cognitive categories, including memory, attention, and problem-solving. It has been validated through partnerships with world-leading institutions like Roche, MIT, UCLA, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs .

📊 The Vision & Market Opportunity

Virtuleap’s traction is nothing short of remarkable.

• Proven Success: They have over 66,000 early users, $1.8 million in commercial agreements, and have tracked nearly a trillion data points.
• Strategic Go-to-Market: They are initially focused on the healthcare market as a companion diagnostic for pharmaceutical trials, with plans to expand into B2B and B2C wellness and productivity markets later on

🔮 Who’s Behind It?

The company is led by a powerful and experienced team:

• Amir Bozorgzadeh: Co-founder & CEO 
• Hossein Jalali: Co-founder & CTO
  
  They are supported by an impressive science advisory board from institutions like Stanford University and USC15.

🎯 Why This Matters & How We Can Help

Virtuleap is at the forefront of preventative and personalized medicine. By making cognitive assessment engaging and data-rich, they are creating a future where brain health can be proactively managed. The technical complexity of their platform—processing trillions of data points to find novel digital biomarkers—is immense. This is where a deep-tech R&D partner like YOUR R&D can add significant value.

• Advanced AI & ML: We can collaborate on refining the deep learning models that analyze their volumetric data to accelerate the discovery of predictive algorithms for cognitive health.
• Clinical System Integration: Developing APIs to seamlessly integrate the Virtuleap enterprise platform with existing clinical research and healthcare systems.
• YOUR R&D LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yourrnd
• Website: https://yourrnd.com

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