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Waiting 9 months to finally meet the biggest surprise of your life for the first time – your baby! – is a long wait. Too long, is what Piotr and Nitzan, founders of VR Peekaboo thought. With VR Peekaboo they won both Get in the Ring Maastricht and Get in the Ring Brightlands Edition, and with that winning the first ticket to the Global Final of the competition.
Nitzan describes it as an experience, going way beyond the 3d ultrasound, as parents will be able to use their hands to interact with their baby through virtual reality (VR). Aside from the clear value this has for the expecting mothers, this is especially valuable for soon-to-be fathers for which a pregnancy is a totally different experience. Or can you imagine for couples using a surrogate mom, what impact is has visiting their baby in another’s womb?
THE STORY
Nitzan and Piotr were already a team before the idea for VR Peekaboo came about. Nitzan has a business development background and with his background in medical visualization and a PhD in Physics, Piotr introduced her to the exciting realm of VR. Nitzan explains that it was one of those ideas that you suddenly get and you don’t really know where it comes from, sort of like connecting the dots:
It’s a result of going deeply into several fields. What’s really exciting is that the application has a lot of potential to be further developed into a medical product. For example, helping to make early diagnosis of abnormalities in fetuses.
HOW IT WORKS
VR Peekaboo converts ultrasound scans into an immersive and interactive VR experience. Parents in prenatal clinics will get the VR experience, with the possibility to re-live it at home via cardboard or a mobile VR set. It’s more than just seeing your soon-to-be-born baby: you can hold it and cuddle it. The experience goes far beyond the 3d ultrasound, let alone 2d scanning.
SUCCESS
VR Peekaboo is a baby on its own, incorporated as a BV early this year, and is currently doing a seed funding round. VR Peekaboo already won several awards and made substantial steps, but the founders won’t rest until having a VR scan become a standard option for expecting parents, allowing for a truly elevated bonding experience for all. The benefits of bonding are believed to help parents making more conscious choices, as the emotional connection starts already at the pregnancy stage.
CHALLENGES
Sounds all good right? But VR Peekaboo is not there yet. Although the VR sector is catching up, it’s still quite small and therefore it’s difficult to find specialists in the field that can act as mentors or partners – which is what VR Peekaboo is actively looking for.
CONNECTIONS
VR Peekaboo loves being in contact with people who are passionate about what they do and want to contribute or act as ambassadors. If you think you have something to add to VR Peekaboo: let us introduce you! More info? Go to vrpeekaboo.com