On April 1, 2026, at the University of Udine, the project “Immersive virtual reality approach in non-oncological chronic pain” by Luca Quartuccio, which uses immersive virtual reality (VR) to support the treatment of fibromyalgia, won the Mattia Crosetto Award.

The award was established by Bio4Dreams and the Department of Medicine of the University of Udine and launched at the beginning of 2026. Thanks to this recognition, the project will gain access to an incubation program at Bio4Dreams worth €30,000.

VR for fibromyalgia

Luca Quartuccio, Director of the Specialization School in Rheumatology at the University of Udine and of the Rheumatology Clinic of the Friuli Centrale University Health Authority, developed, in collaboration with Luca Chittaro, Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the Department of Mathematical, Computer and Physical Sciences of the University of Udine, a virtual reality (VR) system to support the treatment of fibromyalgia, a chronic condition characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain.

By leveraging VR’s visual and sensory stimuli, the system increases patient engagement in the therapeutic pathway, thereby helping reduce chronic pain and stress, with a significant impact on quality of life.

The selection process and award ceremony

The selection process unfolded in several stages, building on the work already launched within Bio4DMED, a program born from the collaboration between Bio4Dreams and the Department of Medicine of UNIUD, which had collected 70 applications. In January 2026, the launch of the Mattia Crosetto Award further expanded this pool with 6 new applications.

Overall, 18 projects were examined in depth, and from these the committee — composed of Bio4Dreams’ technical-scientific and managerial profiles — selected the winner.

Luca Quartuccio’s project will now enter a tailored incubation pathway at Bio4Dreams, through dedicated services supporting the setup and operational launch of the business activity.

Among those attending the award ceremony were Giorgio Alberti, Deputy Rector of the University of Udine; Gianluca Tell, Director of the Department of Medicine of the University of Udine; Elisabetta Borello and Marco Dal Ferro for Bio4Dreams; and Ketty Segatti, Central Director of the Specialized Operational Unit for the European Social Fund Plus and other funds of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia.

“For Bio4Dreams, this award has particular significance because it honors a friend with whom we began a path dedicated to innovation and technology transfer precisely at the University of Udine. Mattia left an authentic mark that we wanted to carry forward in order to connect research and business. With this award, we want to give continuity and substance to that vision by supporting an entrepreneurial idea capable of generating innovation for the healthcare of the future.”

Elisabetta Borello and Marco Dal Ferro, Bio4Dreams

📄 See the press release