Healthcare Awards fund Pioneering Innovations

Six pioneering medtech innovations in the fields of mental health and surgery have been awarded over £5.56 million funding by SBRI Healthcare. These projects, initially identified by an SBRI competition for phase one funding in 2018, including proof-of-concept testing, will now benefit from a second round of funding to demonstrate both technical and commercially viability.

 Dr Keri Torney, deputy director of life sciences, strategy and innovation at NHS England and NHS Improvement, said: “The NHS Long Term Plan reaffirms our commitment to improving mental health care and to speeding up the process of getting new innovations to patients. We are delighted to support these innovative technologies that aim to improve outcomes in mental health and surgery.”

 Dr Seamus O’Neill, Chief Executive of the AHSN NENC and Chair of the AHSN Network nationally, added: “We are excited to be working with a clutch of truly innovative technologies that have the potential to tackle these very specific needs head-on. The challenge now is to support them through the next development phase to ensure these innovations can be successfully commercialised and can bring benefits to patients throughout the UK, as quickly as possible.”

 The innovators in surgical equipment were Inovus – awarded £998,850 - designers and manufacturers of surgical and medical simulation equipment specifically for the field of laparoscopic surgery and advanced life support. The company aims to improve access to high quality, affordable and versatile healthcare training equipment across the globe.

 3D Metal Printing – awarded £625,781 – for its TOKA® Surgical Box that uses virtual data imaging and 3D printing technologies to train surgeons in High Tibial Osteotomy surgery. The technology allows users to plan and perform virtual patient-specific procedures.

 In the mental health category, Mayden – awarded £999,865 - will develop ‘SAPIO’ technology to Streamline Assessment Pathways and Improve Outcomes in NHS psychological therapy (‘IAPT’) services.

 Udamo – awarded £997,871 – to develop Automated Cognitive Restructuring (CR) therapy that is accessible to patients through an app.

XenZone – awarded £977,170 – are working on a digital peer support platform providing young people with skills to interact with peers and to help with their own self development.

 BfB Labs – awarded £964,308 – are developers of Gaming technology that helps improve access to and effectiveness of current frontline cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) treatments for children.