08-05-2026
News
Company context
Metaskills is a Polish start-up developing virtual reality–based soft skills training for healthcare professionals. The solution enables healthcare organisations to create customised training scenarios tailored to their specific environments. Using VR and AR, healthcare professionals can practise communication, empathy, and decision-making in realistic, risk-free conditions.
Metaskills, together with Virtuleap, dotLumen, MEEVA and MedApp, was selected for the VR Health Champions project as one of five flagship SMEs developing innovative XR solutions for healthcare. The project aims to accelerate innovation uptake and support the commercialisation of XR technologies across European healthcare systems. As part of the initiative, the flagship SMEs work to advance their solutions from Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 6 to TRL 9, enabling real-world validation and deployment.
For Metaskills, this meant moving beyond technology development and assessing whether the solution could be effectively implemented and adopted within European healthcare institutions.
To address this challenge, Metaskills defined a specific market and implementation need through the VR Health Champions Open Call 2025, aimed at validating and scaling its solution in real healthcare environments. MetaMedicsVR from Spain was selected as the implementation partner due to its experience working at the intersection of healthcare and immersive technologies, as well as its established relationships with hospitals and universities.
Problem and challenge
The main challenge was not the technology itself, but its implementation in real European healthcare settings. The key question was whether AI-assisted VR soft skills training could be effectively adopted by healthcare institutions.
As a representative of Metaskills explains: “Our main objective was to assess whether AI-assisted VR soft skills training can be effectively implemented and adopted in European healthcare settings. We focused particularly on communication with patients, empathy in clinical interactions, and handling difficult or emotionally sensitive situations.”
From the MetaMedicsVR’s perspective, the main challenge was technical friction within healthcare environments.
“Spanish healthcare institutions operate on very restricted IT environments. Hospital Wi-Fi networks are locked down for security reasons, VR devices need to be pre-approved to connect, and any web-based application that hasn’t been whitelisted is blocked.”
Beyond technical barriers, MetaMedicsVR anticipated logistical challenges. Deploying VR hardware across large teams with limited technical support raises issues related to device management, hygiene, scheduling, and supervision.
Hospitals and educators also expressed concerns before testing. Many institutions questioned whether they would be able to run simulations independently without external support. Participants often lacked familiarity with VR hardware, including headset operation, Wi-Fi connectivity, casting, and controller usage. These findings highlighted the need for structured onboarding, facilitator guides, and training bootcamps.
Another important challenge was ensuring that the simulations were not only engaging, but also clinically credible and feasible within real organisational constraints.
Why VR Health Champions
Metaskills was selected as one of five flagship SMEs in the VR Health Champions project, implemented under the I3 instrument. The project focuses on building interregional value chains for XR solutions in healthcare and accelerating the commercialisation of innovation.
Through the VR Health Champions Open Call 2025, companies from across Europe were invited to respond to specific challenges defined by the five flagship SMEs. Several organisations responded to the Metaskills challenge, and MetaMedicsVR from Spain was selected as the collaboration partner due to its experience working with healthcare institutions and implementing training solutions in clinical environments.
MetaMedicsVR applied to the challenge because the project aligned closely with their core activities. The team works at the intersection of healthcare and immersive technology and already had relationships with institutions relevant to the Metaskills solution. The collaboration also offered an opportunity to assess whether the product could work commercially within the Spanish healthcare market.
The partner expected institutional interest and meaningful pilot results, which were confirmed during implementation. What made the project distinct was its strategic dimension. As MetadeMedicVR explained:
“We weren’t just validating whether the technology works; we were building the evidence base and the strategic framework for how to actually sell it in Spain. That made it more demanding, but also more meaningful.”
As highlighted by Metaskills, the collaboration was practical and implementation-focused:
“MetaMedicsVR acted not only as a pilot implementation partner, but also as a strategic collaborator supporting us in validating how AI-assisted VR soft skills training performs in real healthcare and academic environments.”
What was done
The collaboration with MetaMedicsVR enabled Metaskills to approach pilot implementation in a more structured and realistic way. The partner provided access to healthcare stakeholders and supported the coordination of testing activities within healthcare institutions.
Five full pilots were conducted across Spanish healthcare institutions:
- University of Málaga
- University of Granada
- Antequera Hospital
- Materno Hospital in Málaga
- San Juan de Dios Comillas
In addition, consultancy and smaller trials were conducted with EASO, UIC and Hospital Bellvitge.
MetaMedicsVR explained the diversity of participants:
“At the universities it was undergraduate and postgraduate healthcare students, mostly medical and nursing students. At the hospitals it was physicians and medical residents, as well as nurses.”
Testing was organised in two phases.
The first phase took place at universities using web-based access and mostly individual sessions. This phase focused on technical feasibility and baseline feedback.
The second phase at hospitals involved smaller, supervised groups. MetaMedicsVR staff supported participants during VR sessions, collected pre- and post-test surveys, and conducted qualitative feedback discussions.
The full project lasted six months, from October 2025 to March 2026. University pilots took place between October and November, while hospital pilots were conducted between January and February.
“Working with MetaMedicsVR allowed us to approach pilot implementation in a much more structured and realistic way. We gained direct access to healthcare stakeholders and a better understanding of the operational realities of deploying such solutions.”
One of the key insights was that successful pilot implementation depends on minimising barriers to entry.
“One of the most important insights was that successful pilot implementation depends on minimising friction, including technical requirements, onboarding processes, and institutional infrastructure limitations.”
Testing with healthcare professionals confirmed strong interest in the solution, particularly for repeated practice of communication in realistic scenarios. At the same time, very high expectations emerged regarding realism and overall experience quality.
Results
The collaboration with MetaMedicsVR enabled Metaskills to test the solution in real healthcare settings in Spain and gather structured feedback from end users.
One of the most notable observations was the shift in attitude among clinicians. Initially sceptical participants quickly became engaged once they experienced the simulations. MetaMedicsVR reported that participants showed visible emotional engagement and responded positively to the realism of the scenarios.
Feedback from healthcare professionals was overall very positive.
“Overall ratings were above 4.2/5 across the hospital pilots, with Materno reaching 4.43/5.”
Participants requested additional scenarios, particularly in psychiatry and mental health. They also expressed interest in mobile access, longer sessions, and additional support for VR onboarding.
MetaMedicsVR observed readiness for adoption at the institutional level, although procurement readiness remains limited. Institutions expressed interest in integrating the solution into structured training programmes rather than purchasing standalone tools. This highlighted the importance of training frameworks and facilitator support.
One of the most important findings was that institutions do not view VR as an innovation showcase.
“Stakeholders evaluate VR-based training not as an innovation showcase, but as a practical tool that must integrate into existing systems.”
Healthcare professionals expected realistic scenarios aligned with clinical practice, while institutions focused on implementation risk, technical reliability, and ease of deployment.
During the collaboration, Metaskills also refined its approach to scaling.
“We realised that simple translation is not sufficient. Effective scaling requires deep localisation, including cultural adaptation and alignment with local clinical practices.”
Conclusions
The next steps for Metaskills include improving technical stability, expanding the scenario library, and strengthening localisation for specific markets.
As the company representative explains:
“Adoption will depend not only on further product development, but also on embedding the solution into formal education and professional training pathways, and building strong institutional reference cases.”
MetaMedicsVR confirmed interest in continuing collaboration. The team sees strong adoption potential in Spain, particularly through universities and private healthcare providers with faster procurement processes.
Before scaling, MetaMedicsVR identified several areas for improvement:
- increased realism of avatars
- faster response times
- multi-participant scenarios
- deeper clinical scenario complexity
- expanded paediatric simulations
- improved Spanish-language support
- structured onboarding and training materials
The VR Health Champions project enabled Metaskills to move from technology development to preparing a strategy for real-world implementation in European healthcare. The company gained a clearer understanding of market needs, stakeholder expectations, and pathways to commercialisation.
