Virmedex, a UPC and UB spin-off, wins an Impact Leaders 2026 award in the Disruption category

Virmedex, a spin-off of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), has won the Impact Leaders 2026 award in the Disruption category. The award was presented at Netmentora Catalunya’s 6th Impact Night, held on Wednesday 28 October. The jury recognised the company for opening up new possibilities in healthcare training through technology.

The evening highlighted the value at the heart of Netmentora: its collaborative spirit. Seasoned entrepreneurs and executives put their experience at the service of projects that are just starting out, as a way of giving back to the ecosystem and supporting those who come after them. The organisation’s motto sums it up: growing is also sharing.

Netmentora Catalunya is a non-profit association of entrepreneurs and executives that forms part of the international Réseau Entreprendre network. It supports companies in their first years of activity through free mentoring. The Impact Night is its annual gala and recognises projects with impact in three categories: ESG Impact, Disruption, and From Entrepreneur to Business Owner.

This year’s edition, inspired by the Oscars ceremony, brought together more than 170 people from Catalonia’s business and entrepreneurial ecosystem. For the first time, presentations and voting took place live, following the screening of the finalists’ videos in each category. The panel of judges was made up of more than 20 institutions and, except in the case of the ESG Impact category, also included the vote of the attending audience. The UPC took part as a member of the jury through Emprèn UPC.

Simulators to train healthcare professionals

Virmedex Virtual Experiences trains students and healthcare professionals in the use of complex medical devices through simulators based on video games, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.

Its first product, virCPB, simulates cardiopulmonary bypass in cardiac surgery. Users work in a virtual operating theatre, learn to run the heart-lung machine, make decisions and apply protocols without any risk to patients. The second, virECMO, reproduces the entire extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) process, from cannulation to decannulation.

The simulators are offered by subscription through a web platform. This reduces costs and makes them accessible to all kinds of hospitals, not just the largest. They are currently used by universities and hospitals in more than 30 countries, with collaborations in the United States, the United Kingdom and Latin America. The company has raised over one million euros through subscription sales and public and private funding, including a first round of €150,000 from Grow Venture Partners in 2024. It is now looking for new investors to continue growing.

Daniela Tost, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Virmedex, collected the award. Tost is a former lecturer in the UPC’s Department of Computer Science and now works full-time at the company. This recognition follows the UPC Research Valorisation Award that the spin-off received in November 2025, and acknowledges the journey of university research to the market. It is a journey, as was noted at the Impact Night, that is not made alone: behind every company that moves forward there is shared experience, trust and people willing to help those who come after them.

'Research cannot just stay in offices, we need to be brave,
and realise that what we are researching can be turned into a product that impacts society''

Dani Tost