Innovate UK has recognised 100 female founders in its latest Women in Innovation cohort, focusing on manufacturing, digital tech, and life sciences, with innovations spanning wearable tech, diagnostics, and AI.
61 of those selected will be receiving a £75,000 grant, along with 12 months of business support and training, Innovate UK reports. The remaining 31 applicants will also receive the 12 months of business support.
Some of the projects named by Innovate UK include wearable tech to detect dehydration risk in older adults, looking to prevent avoidable illnesses and reduce hospital admissions. Mary-Brenda Akoda, another successful applicant, is using AI to reduce MRI scanning time by up to 90 percent.
Myra Waiman is using everyday textiles to create smart pressure sensors capable of detecting harm “before it happens”, with the potential to prevent injuries and improve patient care. Kiren Baines-Mortimore is using precision RNA therapeutics to target the biological drivers of Parkinson’s disease, to offer insight that could help transform treatment and improve outcomes.
Since 2016, the awards programme has invested more than £15 million in 260 women innovators, according to Innovate UK, who have then gone on to secure an additional £358 million in funding and investment.
“The awards have also helped drive a major shift in participation across Innovate UK, with the proportion of successful women-led applications increasing from one in seven to one in three across all competitions,” it reports.
Emily Nott, head of inclusive innovation at Innovate UK, offered congratulations to all successful applicants, adding: “Reaching the 10th anniversary of the programme with record levels of engagement demonstrates the extraordinary talent, unstoppable ambition, and groundbreaking innovation being developed by women across the UK.”
Wider trend: NHS innovation
The Health Service Executive in Ireland has published a framework for health innovation, outlining its vision, along with plans for governance, lifecycle, and implementation pathways. Reportedly co-designed by staff and leaders from across the health system, HSE shares requirements to enable and sustain innovation, with an aim to provide the foundation for these to be translated into action.
Health Innovation West of England has launched a primary care accelerator, in partnership with One Care, the GP federation for general practice in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. The programme looks to attract innovators and digital solutions that address pressures in primary care, workforce efficiency, neighbourhood working, and the management of long-term conditions and frailty. It hopes to support innovations enter the primary care market and gain insights and guidance from general practice.
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust has shared plans for its intelligent automation programme, noting progress around outpatient admin automation, ambient voice tech, Copilot, robotic process automation, and the development of a trust automation support offer. A market engagement has been completed with potential suppliers for the automation of outpatients administration, the trust notes, with a procurement lead time estimated at three-to-six months.
