Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s partnership with Newcastle University and the North East Innovation Lab (NEIL), designed to offer “independent expert support” to health tech innovators, has successfully secured £2.56 million in funding for innovations around the diagnosis and treatment of infection.
The two projects focus on developing a portable device which “rapidly detects DNA” to diagnose sexually transmitted infections and UTIs to “improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis”; and a technology solution capable of selecting the “most appropriate” antibiotic to treat UTIs, potentially improving how antibiotics are prescribed.
The two projects will be tested against real-world patient samples, with their results being scored against current practice. Dr Ashley Price, consultant in infectious diseases at Newcastle Hospitals, highlighted the possibilities for these new technologies to “transform the diagnosis of common infections in the community and hospitals”, adding that they could make the diagnosis process “more efficient for clinicians”, and “help to ensure that patients are given the right treatments at the right time”.
Dr John Tyson, head of the NEIL, said the funding from the NIHR Invention for Innovation Product Development Award competition, represented an “exciting opportunity” to support innovators with the development of their devices for improving the detection and treatment of illness.
Innovation in patient care
In mid-November, we asked a number of NHS and health tech professionals: what is holding the NHS back from innovation, and what is needed to break these barriers? Responses centred around several key themes, including a lack of available and sustained funding, a lack of knowledge or understanding of the innovation process, a lack of time and/or capacity to take on innovation activities, issues around compliance, and bureaucracy in decision-making.
HTN was also joined by experts from across the health sector to dissect the findings from Lord Darzi’s report, reflecting on what is holding the NHS back from innovation; the challenges and missed opportunities; and the role of digital and tech in driving change, supporting a focus on prevention and promoting integrated care. Panellists cited a lack of direction, a need for more investment, and the importance of engagement, amongst other factors, as preventing more innovation in the NHS.
We also looked at just how innovative technologies are being harnessed in caring for patients, including in Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital, which has tested out a ‘Bedside Intelligent Cabinet’ designed to store routine medicines, alert patients or guardians when medication is due, and update staff including notifying them if any medication is missed. The trial, supported by NHS Grampian’s Innovation Hub, is said to tie in with the hospital’s plans to help facilitate self-administration of medicines, with medication safety advisor Lindsay Cameron commenting on the potential for self-administration to “improve patient satisfaction and confidence, encourage independence and self-care in a safe environment”, along with improving the patient’s understanding of their medication.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals also shared details of how AI and imaging tools are being utilised across the trust, with an aim to reduce waiting times for x-ray results, and support cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment. As part of the North East London Cancer Alliance, the trust is participating in an initiative to utilise AI to reduce waiting times for X-ray results “from three weeks to just three days” for “scans with significant findings”, using AI to help clinicians prioritise urgent cases and “quickly” sort through normal ones. The trust is also running a new project aiming to speed up the diagnosis of mouth cancer, inviting patients to attend Barking’s CDC to have photos taken by a clinical photography team which can then be examined by a head and neck consultant.
