At MEDVIA, we support health innovation by annually providing access to €9 million in non-dilutive funding for collaborative projects. This funding – made available by VLAIO – supports consortia that are jointly developing disruptive solutions to unmet medical needs.

MEDVIA helps our members find relevant partners, sharpen the project idea and assemble their project applications, giving them the best chance of success. Over the years we’ve helped 25 projects by over 70 different partner organizations gain VLAIO funding worth a total of over €16 million!

Here are some examples of the great past and present VLAIO projects where companies, healthcare providers and research institutes are working together to drive healthtech innovation that makes a real difference to patients.

Past and present VLAIO projects

AstroCardia

Formerly Space-heart-chip
Consortium: SCK CEN, Space Applications Services, QbD Group, BIO INX and Antleron
Grant: €1,744,469
Project duration: 30 months (2023 – 2026)
Status: Ongoing (space launch in 2025)

AstroCardia has developed an artificial miniature heart model and vascular system using 3D bioprinting – a ‘heart-on-a-chip’ – and to test it the consortium is sending this microfluidic chip to the International Space Station! The reason for the long journey is that this ‘heart-on-a-chip’ is being evaluated as a cardiovascular ageing model, and space is known to induce changes in the cardiovascular system of astronauts similar to the ageing process on Earth. The ultimate goal of the project is to develop better models for basic research, drug discovery and development, and personalized medicine.

D-STRESS

Digital Phenotyping of Stress Recovery to Augment Blended Coaching
Consortium: KU Leuven, IDEWE, Faresa and Cegeka
Grant: €1,963,366
Project duration: 24 months (2025 – 2026)
Status: Ongoing

Understanding and coping with stressors is the biggest challenge in mental healthcare. A promising approach is using blended coaching, where face-to-face sessions are combined with personalized digital interventions, but current products struggle to assess the long-term effects of chronic stress. This is why the D-STRESS project is aiming to investigate stress by comparing real-life recovery to responses recorded in the lab. By integrating data-driven insights with user-friendly interfaces, D-STRESS aims to empower both healthcare professionals and employees to effectively manage stress and reduce the risk of stress-related disorders such as burnout and depression.

MDB-4-IBD

Multiple Digital Biomarkers 4 optimization of IBD care
Consortium: Inovigate / Sentigrate / Imelda Ziekenhuis
Grant: €652,671
Project duration: 24 months (2025 – 2027)
Status: Ongoing

The MDB-4-IBD project aims to improve inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care by developing a digital solution for remote patient follow-up. The system will continuously monitor patients and use digital markers and AI to allow IBD specialists to quickly identify patients with increased risk of a flare up and create personalized early interventions. The insights generated from the analytical platform can also be used to support the development of new pharmaceutical treatments. The ultimate goal is to prevent disease escalation, avoiding surgery or other expensive treatments, while improving each patient’s quality of life.

OncoCare@Home

Consortium: Byteflies, NexuzHealth, WGK OVL and UZ Leuven
Grant: €992,140
Project duration: 24 months (2022 – 2024)
Status: Successfully concluded

With the OncoCare@Home project, the consortium created a wearable smart solution for telemonitoring cancer patients. The device was created to enable remote patient follow-up after diagnosis or treatment and during the remission phase by objectively tracking disease progression and automatically detecting treatment side effects such as cardiotoxicity, neurotoxicity and inflammation. By applying the solution in real-world settings and integrating feedback from patients and healthcare professionals, the project partners are continuing to optimize its functionality and impact. The ultimate aim is to help prevent (re-)admission to the hospital and increase the life expectancy of cancer patients.

PhonAID

Phoniatrics Artificial Intelligence Detection tool
Consortium: AZ Delta / Goomyx / EIORL / ELG De Piramide
Grant: €497,936
Project duration: 24 months (2023 – 2025)
Status: Ongoing

The PhonAID project is developing an AI-based application for improved screening and early detection of voice disorders. The mobile health application can be used to record a patient’s voice during an appointment with their General Practitioner and then – based on that and additional clinical information submitted by their doctor – it can make potential high-level diagnosis and suggest whether a referral to an Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) specialist may be necessary. The aim is to create a tool to support GPs in their decision-making, improving the referral process, providing reassurance to patients and leading to better health outcomes.

Biodevice-CRO

Biodevice–Contract Research Organization
Consortium: ICsense, Comate and Antleron
Grant: €129,830
Project duration: 18 months (2022 – 2023)

Biodevice-CRO was a project uniting three complementary Flemish companies to develop modular bioprocess solutions. These smart solutions – based on an integrated chip, biofluidic cartridge and functional device – enable fast-track development of personalized medicines (like cell and gene therapies) and improved diagnostics. As a result of the collaboration, a proof-of-concept device was developed focused on electroporation, using electrical impulses to open cell membranes. This validation demonstrated the adaptability of the platform, meaning the consortium is now ready to provide life science actors with customizable biodevices through a collaborative Contract Research Organization (CRO) model.

Check out all of our Funded VLAIO Projects here! 

Who can apply for a VLAIO grant?

For all of these VLAIO projects, the focus is on collaboration, innovation and valorization of a great new health or medtech idea. The grants are bespoke: the funding and duration depending on the needs of the project (typically ranging from €300K-3M and 12-30 months).

Since collaboration is key, industrial VLAIO projects require a consortium of enterprises to work together to apply. Each consortium has to include at least 3 enterprises with at least one MEDVIA member and two Flemish partners; and two of the three sectors: biotech, medtech or digital health. The project itself also has to fall into at least one of the following four focal domains: value-based efficient healthcare, personalized medicine, disruptive health solutions, or digital medicine/health. Additionally, universities and university colleges can also apply for projects such as TETRA and COOCK+.

MEDVIA helps projects get funded

MEDVIA helps our members find partners and put together project proposals that have everything they need to succeed. Our experts have extensive experience from many successful past projects, meaning they know exactly what is needed to build a great consortium and navigate the VLAIO application process.

We work together with all of the members of the consortium to crystallize their idea and put their best foot forward in their project proposal. Along the road, we provide applicants with a template that they can use as a cornerstone for this and future project proposals. We set up sparring sessions and an abstract workshop to help refine their project idea, and help provide mentorship and information on strategy, writing, deadlines and specifics (like finance and reporting requirements). We also run tailor-made information sessions so that consortia receive the general advice they need but also have room for specific questions pertaining to their own projects.

MEDVIA is with our members the whole way through the journey. From initial brainstorm to submission, we make sure that project consortia have a dedicated MEDVIA representative that they can turn to for personal support – an ‘expert on call’ helping innovative health project obtain the funding they need to succeed.

2025.1 Call for new VLAIO projects

The first 2025 Call for applications is now open! The next important deadline is this ‘Intention to Submit’ document – a basic one-pager describing the project idea, due on the 28th of March. This is just a short initial outline; the consortium doesn’t need to be complete and MEDVIA can help members find more partners if they need them. More information on the Call 2025.1 process and deadlines can be found here.

If any MEDVIA members are interested in applying, they should book a sparring session with Isabelle François (book now or email isabelle.francois@medvia.be)​ or Walter Van der Eycken (email walter.vandereycken@medvia.be​).

If you missed the 2025.1 Call, you could always apply for the next one! Sign up to the MEDVIA newsletter to stay up to date, use our RFP tool, or get in touch to let us know your project idea!