Leading Patient-Centred Innovation in the Middle East

The Challenge

To maintain its leadership position, King's sought to dramatically elevate patient experience at a time of rising expectations and strong regional competition. The hospital aimed to reduce procedural distress and unnecessary sedation while finding a solution that could scale across multiple sites. With a crowded VR startup market in the region, King's needed a regulated, clinically proven solution — not just another consumer technology adapted for healthcare.

The Solution

Smileyscope aligned with King's philosophy of simple, scalable, evidence-based innovation. The technology was rolled out first in the Paediatric Emergency Department and wards, integrated into routine cannulation and anxiety reduction protocols. Nurses became early champions, driving consistent bedside use. The implementation model focused on building a scalable approach with multiple devices, trained champions, and structured patient feedback. Parallel planning also began for women's health applications, with Lume's guided meditations for IVF, miscarriage, labour and gynaecological care.

The Impact

Early results show strong, measurable improvements and a clear shift in practice. Smileyscope is now routinely used across the Emergency Department, PICU and paediatrics as standard of care, with outstanding patient and family feedback. The technology has become a showcase for nurse-led innovation, highlighted at King's Nursing Conference with frontline nurses leading adoption and training. More families now choose King's specifically for its VR-supported, non-sedation approach. Cross-department interest is growing, with obstetrics, gynaecology and oncology teams exploring VR for adult procedures.

It's become a drawcard for us. There are lots of families that come to King's now because they know that if their child is anxious, we have other ways to do it rather than just traditional sedation.

— Sandip Kumar, Chief Digital Innovation Officer, King's College Hospital London, Dubai

Going Forward

King's and Smileyscope are deepening their strategic partnership through a formal design partnership guiding new products across women's health, oncology, dialysis and interventional radiology. The hospital plans expansion across sites with additional devices, more nurse champions and enhanced training. Regional showcase opportunities through King's Nursing Conference and industry events will demonstrate the power of nurse-led digital innovation. Together, King's and Smileyscope are establishing a new regional standard: VR-supported procedural care that is nurse-led, evidence-based, and scalable across the Middle East.