Oliver A Kannape

Oliver A Kannape is the founding Director of the Virtual Medicine Center (VMC) at the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG).134 He is a cognitive scientist by training with over a decade of experience in cognitive neuroscience and virtual reality.23

Professional Background

Dr. Kannape has a diverse background that includes:

• Working at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and the Fondation Campus Biotech Geneva (FCBG)1
• Experience at Mindmaze, a major neurotech company and EPFL startup1
• Coordinating the use of medical XR (extended reality) technologies for patient care, medical education, and clinical research at HUG5

Research Interests

His research focuses on:

• Translating neuroscientific findings into clinical applications2
• Understanding the functional and neuronal contributions of human action and awareness to body perception7
• Developing VR-based diagnosis and therapy solutions for acute and outpatient care1

Role at the Virtual Medicine Center

As the Director of the VMC, Dr. Kannape is responsible for:

• Fostering the development of new VR-based diagnostic and therapeutic solutions1
• Establishing collaborations between researchers, physicians, and engineers1
• Developing novel VR teaching tools for medical students in Geneva1
• Facilitating industry interactions in the field of digital and neurotechnologies1

The Virtual Medicine Center, launched in 2023, aims to bring VR/AR/MR technologies to the bedside for digital diagnostics and therapeutics, making it one of the first such centers worldwide.16