Meet Oliver Morton-Evans: Co-founder of Neuromersiv, Revolutionizing Rehabilitation Therapy with VR

Oliver Morton-Evans, Chief Operating Officer at Neuromersiv was inspired to start a MedTech startup by combining his background in producing immersive Virtual Reality experiences and his lived experience with a lifelong disability. He has been motivated by the possibility of improving functional mobility outcomes for people with disability and empowering them through immersive Virtual Reality (VR) based rehabilitation therapy.
With a background in producing award-winning animation and immersive Virtual Reality content, Oliver brings a unique perspective to the healthcare industry. This background led to the creation of a unique value proposition for Neuromersiv as the startup is revolutionizing rehabilitation therapy through immersive and engaging VR therapy.
Before co-founding Neuromersiv, Oliver and co-founder and CEO, Anshul Dayal ran an award-winning animation and VR production studio that created immersive VR experiences for corporate clients such as KPMG and Miele. He also produced digital content for the successful children’s entertainers, The Wiggles, for seven years.

Revolutionizing Upper Limb Rehabilitation Therapy
Neuromersiv is making a significant impact in the healthcare industry by tackling the issues arising from standard upper limb rehabilitation therapy. For the past 20 years, the standard upper limb rehabilitation therapy has not changed and it is very boring, monotonous and demoralizing for those recovering from a stroke, acquired brain injuries, or spinal cord injuries.
“There is a lack of therapy compliance which is why is it estimated that 66% of stroke survivors alone do not regain functional use of their affected arm. This has a serious impact on independence and quality of life”.
Neuromersiv’s solution is Ulysses, which is an innovative therapy solution that offers engaging and rewarding therapy experiences from the comfort of the user’s own home eliminating the need to travel.

Starting a Medtech startup can be a challenging journey, but with perseverance and the right team, success is possible. The Neuromersiv team faced many challenges when launching their startup. One of the biggest challenges they faced was working with a technology that was rapidly evolving. When they first started, virtual reality technology required a wired connection to a PC, which was not ideal for use in a clinical setting. To overcome this challenge, they sought out early adopters of the technology who believed in its potential and were lucky to find investment and interest from rehabilitation providers.
Finding the right co-founder is also crucial for any startup. Luckily, Oliver’s co-founder was a previous business partner and they had a proven track record of working together. When choosing co-founders, it’s important to look for qualities such as resilience, motivation, and the ability to navigate testing times.
“The ride can definitely be a rollercoaster, particularly in startups, so choosing co-founders who display the resilience and motivation to navigate testing times is particularly important.”, says Oliver Morton-Evans, COO, Neuromersiv
Advice for entrepreneurs
Starting a startup in Medtech is a difficult field to tackle, and there is a steep learning curve to master all the different, interrelated elements required to succeed. Patience is also a key attribute to have as everything takes a lot longer than expected, which can be contradictory to mainstream thought on how to succeed in startups.
“Have the conviction to make your own decisions despite often being the least knowledgeable or experienced person in the room. When starting out, everyone is wanting to offer advice, and a lot will be contradictory, so being decisive despite that is important”, says Oliver Morton-Evans, COO, Neuromersiv.
The Future of Healthcare and the Role of Technology
“The future of healthcare delivery is definitely home-based telehealth”
Neuromersiv sees the value of patients being able to easily perform their therapy at home, reducing friction for often immobilized people to maintain their therapy protocol. This is particularly vital in isolated areas and places with limited transport options.
To stay ahead of the competition and continue innovating in the industry, Neuromersiv is looking for ways to apply its immersive VR technology to benefit people’s wellness beyond upper-limb neurorehabilitation. They plan to apply what they have learned about the neuroplastic effect VR provides to other conditions and use cases.
Achievements and future goals
Neuromersiv’s Ulysses VR-based upper limb therapy software has now been successfully included in the Australian Therapeutic Drugs Administration (TGA) and UK Medicine & Healthcare Product Regulatory Agency (MHRA), allowing it to be commercially placed in both markets for stroke and acquired brain injury rehabilitation applications. The registrations are another important step forward for the company after having recently acquired commercial early adopters of the technology in Australia, the UK and India. This is a significant achievement for the company, and they plan to focus on scaling up commercial adoption of the VR software-only offering as a standalone product through rehabilitation clinics, hospitals, and end-users (B2C).

Neuromersiv is a prime example of a MedTech startup that has faced many challenges but has overcome them with the right team, perseverance, and innovation. Their use of virtual reality technology in upper limb rehabilitation therapy has shown great promise and are committed to their future goals of scaling up commercial adoption and expanding to other use cases.
To support the commercial adoption of their technology, Neuromersiv is currently raising a $300,000 seed round to build a sales and business development team to service markets in Australia, UK and India. This represents a great opportunity to invest early in an Australian digital therapeutics startup with global ambitions.
Interested investors should contact Anshul Dayal via anshul@neuromersiv.com and a deck can be provided.
Latest Post




