Torrevieja University Hospital has installed an advanced immersive projection system designed to improve the emotional well-being of patients admitted to its Mental Health Unit.
The technology can transform an ordinary hospital room into a calming therapeutic environment by projecting large-scale images across the walls and ceiling while playing complementary ambient sounds.
Patients can experience natural landscapes, forests, seascapes and star-filled skies, as well as guided relaxation and mindfulness sessions. The content can be adapted by healthcare professionals according to each patient’s condition and therapeutic needs.
Unlike conventional virtual-reality systems, the installation does not require patients to wear a headset or specialist glasses. This allows patients and healthcare professionals to share the experience, encouraging communication, interaction and a stronger therapeutic relationship.
The hospital says the system forms part of its wider programme to humanise healthcare and make clinical environments feel less intimidating during a hospital stay.
Within mental-health care, immersive experiences are increasingly being used as a complementary resource to encourage relaxation, reduce stress and anxiety, and support emotional regulation. They are not intended to replace established medical or psychological treatment but can provide professionals with an additional therapeutic tool.
Immersive technology is already being incorporated into hospitals for purposes ranging from mental-health therapy and pain management to physical rehabilitation, medical training and patient education. Its development has accelerated as hospitals seek more personalised and less clinical-feeling ways of delivering care.
In February 2025, Barcelona’s Hospital Clínic opened two immersive rooms for children and adolescents receiving mental-health treatment. The spaces were designed to support relaxation, group therapy and emotional self-regulation, while researchers assessed their effect on anxiety and patient well-being.
Research into immersive healthcare remains an evolving field, but studies have produced encouraging results. One Spanish pilot study involving healthcare workers found improvements in anxiety and well-being following an eight-week immersive therapy programme, although its authors stressed that further controlled research was required.
Projection-based systems may also offer advantages over headsets in hospital settings. They avoid the discomfort or disorientation that some people experience when wearing virtual-reality equipment and allow clinicians to remain visibly present throughout a session.
More than 100 healthcare centres in Spain and abroad are reported to be using similar technology.
At Torrevieja Hospital, professionals will be able to develop different experiences around the requirements and treatment objectives of individual patients. The new installation expands the resources available within the Mental Health Inpatient Unit and represents a further move towards creating a calmer, more supportive hospital experience.
