SAFXR: Advancing Suicide-Prevention Training Through XR
- Nov 28
- 3 min read
Strengthening Scotland’s Digital Mental Health Innovation Ecosystem
The SAFXR project, funded through Innovate UK’s Mindset-XR Round 3 competition, launched on 1 July 2025, uniting Care Reality, NHS Education for Scotland (NES), the University of Glasgow, and the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) to co-develop an immersive, machine-learning-enabled suicide-prevention training resource as part of Care Reality’s existing XR FLO platform. The project’s goal is ambitious yet clear: to enhance practitioner capability and learner self-reflection through realistic XR simulation and evidence-informed design.
Strengthening DHI’s Role in Scotland’s Digital Health Landscape
For DHI, the SAFXR project is a tangible demonstration of how innovation partnerships can advance national priorities for digital mental health. DHI has contributed with partners to shaping early project governance, facilitating cross-partner collaboration, and embedding the learning methodologies and technical design processes that now underpin SAFXR development. These structures have been essential in establishing a coherent operational rhythm across four organisations with individually distinct cultures and working practices.
The project also highlights DHI’s role in convening triple-helix expertise around complex mental-health challenges, translating research, service needs, and technology capabilities into a pathway for real-world impact.
A Boost for the Digital Mental Health Innovation Cluster
SAFXR directly bolsters the Digital Mental Health Innovation Cluster, which DHI facilitates on behalf of Scottish Government, as part of its mission to accelerate innovation across Scotland’s mental-health ecosystem. The project contributes to DMHIC in three key ways:
Building shared capability across academia, NHS partners, and industry. SAFXR’s collaborative model, linking University of Glasgow, NES, DHI, and Care Reality, demonstrates the multidimensional partnership approach that the cluster aims to foster.
Providing a flagship example of XR applied to real clinical and front-line training needs. As the platform matures, it will serve as a visible, evidence-based exemplar of how immersive technology can help address frontline mental-health challenges such as suicide safety planning and practitioner skills development.
Enriching Scotland’s pipeline of validated digital mental-health solutions. Through structured co-design, rigorous educational modelling, and early adoption of technical enablers, SAFXR is creating a robust foundation for scale and future translational projects within the cluster.
These contributions advance the cluster’s strategic goals while expanding Scotland’s capacity to innovate responsibly and collaboratively in the area of digital mental health.
Project Highlights from Phase 1 (July–September 2025)
Co-design work was progressed through the creation of Figma storyboards, draft narrative flows, early mock-ups, and a refined learning-journey model transitioning from six modules to a progressive three-phase pathway.
On the technical side, the early completion of the Content Prescription System within the FLO platform, using AWS DynamoDB and a new React-based admin dashboard, provides a strong foundation for upcoming XR content integration.
Looking Ahead
Over the next quarter, the consortium will focus on:
Completing storyboard QA and validation
Advancing asset procurement and Unity prototype development
Delivering the baseline machine-learning model and APIs
Initiating focus groups and early engagement sessions
These activities will not only drive SAFXR forward but will further strengthen DHI’s role in shaping next-generation digital mental-health solutions for Scotland, fostering a thriving and impactful innovation cluster.
In Summary
SAFXR Phase 1 closes with strong partner alignment, a clear educational and technical blueprint, and a shared commitment to delivering an immersive training platform capable of transforming suicide-prevention training and skills development. SAFXR is already demonstrating the power of collaborative innovation, and its progress significantly amplifies the impact and visibility of Scotland’s Digital Mental Health Innovation Cluster.
