Welcome to our February newsletter.
In this issue our blog highlights 10 insights for Direct-to-Consumer success in XR health tech.
Our company spotlight this month is on Photography Based Therapeutics (PBT), a company helping young people express emotions through images rather than words.
As always, if you have any comments or suggestions for future newsletters you can get in touch with the team at hin.mindset@nhs.net.
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In February's blog, Dr Emilios Lemoniatis, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist and CEO / CCIO of Medical Creatives Ltd, shares 10 insights on how innovators can navigate the challenges of D2C to build commercially viable products.
With a rapidly expanding market and growing consumer appetite for immersive, personalised health solutions, D2C gives founders the chance to move fast. These insights will help them navigate the landscape with confidence and unlock new opportunities.
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This month our company spotlight is on Photography Based Therapeutics.
Founder Nicole Elias tells us how PBT’s research‑led, clinically tested approach turns everyday photography into a safe, structured way for young people to communicate how they feel, giving clinicians earlier, clearer insights and supporting those who struggle with traditional talk‑based therapies.
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Lloyds Banking Group backs psychology for better money skills
In efforts to boost customer financial resilience, Lloyds Banking Group has teamed up with Mindset-XR project, Good With, a behavioural health fintech.
By analysing patterns via Good With’s Readiness Score, Lloyds can personalise support, broaden lending criteria, and better identify customers’ needs.
Learn how Lloyds is applying psychology to help people build stronger financial skills.
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Innovate UK Innovation Loans Round 25
This new loan from Innovate UK supports UK registered businesses for close to market innovative projects with strong commercial potential. Micro, small and medium sized enterprises are welcome to apply, but to be eligible their projects must significantly benefit the UK economy and deliver societal benefit.
The closing date for applications is 04 March 2026.
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New guidance around digital mental health technologies issued
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has published new guidance on using digital tools to support mental health as people turn to these technologies.
The free online resources were produced by the MHRA in conjunction with NHS England and use short animations and real-world examples to show what safe, well-evidenced digital mental health technologies look like in practice.
Read guidance.
Reflecting on lived experience expertise in digital mental health research
Achieving meaningful lived experience involvement in digital mental health research requires a collaborative, cross-disciplinary, and cross-sectoral approach.
In this Viewpoint featured in the December issue of The Lancet Digital Health, the authors urge researchers, the industry, and funders to invest in capacity-strengthening initiatives, particularly in lower-resource settings, where lived experience involvement remains underdeveloped.
Discover what’s needed to advance lived experience involvement.
NIHR issues new guidance on payments for lived experience panels
NIHR has released updated guidance to help organisations pay public contributors fairly and confidently, including how to navigate employment status and tax considerations when involving people with lived experience in research.
Find out how to pay contributors fairly.
Digital interventions show strong mental health benefits for cancer patients
A large systematic review of 139 randomised controlled trials with 19,233 participants found that digital health interventions such as social media programmes, mHealth apps, telehealth, web‑based tools, and virtual reality significantly reduce anxiety, depression, psychological distress, and sleep problems among cancer patients and survivors.
Dive into the full study to see which digital approaches deliver the biggest impact.
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Navigating Intellectual Property (IP) risks and opportunities
25 February, 10am - 11am. Online.
This free webinar from techUK will help companies identify their IP rights and how to exploit them. It will also consider the risks when working with IP owned by others and discuss ways to mitigate those risks effectively.
Find out more and register to attend.
Horizon Europe seminar on applying for funding
25 February, 12pm - 2.30pm
25 March, 12pm - 2.30pm
These online sessions offers an introduction to Horizon Europe and outlines major health‑related funding opportunities in the newly published 2026–27 Work Programmes, including €1.081 billion under the Health Work Programme, €264 million for the Cancer Mission, and substantial opportunities across the EIC, ERC and MSCA.
Find out more.
London Venture Capital Summit
15 May 2026, London
Join Europe’s top venture capital conference for a day of high-level networking, industry-leading talks, and insight into the investment trends shaping 2026 and beyond.
Connect with 60 family offices, 600 investors, and 800 innovators from across the globe and then join an exclusive afterparty and other London Venture Capital Week events.
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We hope you have enjoyed this Newsletter. Please feel free to forward on to any contacts you have who you think will find it useful.
If you have received this Newsletter from a colleague and would like to be added to our direct mailing list, please contact us and we will make sure you receive the next issue in March.
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