April Newsletter

Care Home Innovation: Associate feature in Holyrood magazine

Dr Susan Shenkin from the Department of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, features in the Public Health edition of Holyrood magazine, highlighting the golden opportunity to build on positive data-enabled work and the vast potential for Scotland’s care home sector that lies in data-led innovation.

Dr Shenkin is also the Clinical Innovation Lead for the HISES Care Home Data Platform Innovation Foundation SBRI Challenge and is working alongside Research Champion, Lucy Johnston from Napier University.

Phase 1 starts on the 19th April where the top 5 shortlisted companies will assess if currently collected data on residents by care homes, can provide a holistic digital picture of a resident’s health, wellbeing and care needs.

Case Study: Tailored Talks for COVID-19 ICU survivors

The application of the Tailored Talks platform is a critical enabler of the Hospital to Home pathway developed by Pogo Studio in partnership with NHS Lothian and Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland.

It was created to facilitate effective discharge, to support people and their families make the transition from ICU to home following a COVID diagnosis, and to ensure that there is ongoing support as people learn to live with the longer-term impact of the virus.

Dr Judith Merriweather, Critical Care Recovery Service Lead in NHS Lothian shares how this has worked in practice and the future vision of Tailored Talks.

HISES SBRI competition roundup

We’d like to thank all applicants that applied for our two latest HISES SBRI innovation competitions. Following a rigorous assessment process through an independent panel, the Multi-morbidity Acute Care SBRI has successfully shortlisted 4 companies to take into Phase 1 to develop a data-driven solution to improve the care and outcomes for patients with multi-morbidities admitted to A&E.

Applications received for the Hip Fracture SBRI are currently at the assessment stage. Once this process is complete, we will take up to 5 companies into Phase 1 which aims to develop a solution which will improve quality of care and outcomes for hip fracture patients. You can find out more on the current HISES portfolio on our website.

HISES Diabetes SBRI Phase 1 starts!

The Inpatient Diabetes Challenge is led by Endocrinologist Dr Stuart Ritchie who is based at the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh. The original project start date of 1st February 2021 was sadly delayed due to COVID hospital pressures. However, we are now delighted to announce that the two shortlisted companies MyWay Digital Health and CamDiab Ltd are now ready to start Phase 1 in April 2021.

In Phase 1, the challenge solvers will be exploring potential solutions to develop a real-time decision support tool and alert mechanism that can improve triage, pre-vent medication errors, identify emergencies, and streamline the diabetes care pathway.

Data Ethics, AI and Responsible Innovation: Free Online Course

Data is power that can be used to help or harm. Learn about Data Ethics, AI and Responsible Innovation with this free 5-week online course developed by the University of Edinburgh’s Innovation Hub for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

This story-driven course is taught by the leading experts in data science, AI, information law, science and technology studies, and responsible research and innovation, and informed by case studies supplied by the digital business frontrunners and tech companies. Starting Monday 3rd May, enrol today!

Colon Capsule Endoscopy webinar: An international research partnership

Since 2019, clinical teams in Denmark and Scotland have worked on establishing strong research units around the use of colon capsule endoscopy (CCE) for diagnosing colorectal cancer. Parallel to local implementation and research projects, the teams at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, and in the NHS Highland region of Scotland have developed a close relationship focused on sharing knowledge and research findings as well as joining forces on international clinical research.

Join the webinar 3 – 4.30pm on Tuesday, 20th April to hear about the work that has been done so far.

Case Study: A digital companion for dementia care

CogniHealth, an Edinburgh-based health-tech company that creates digital solutions for long-term conditions, has teamed up with the University of the Highlands and Islands and the University of Edinburgh to develop their healthcare app for dementia carers.

Their flagship solution, CogniCare, empowers carers with an array of resources and activities that cover all aspects of dementia care in one place. It uses artificial intelligence (AI) to drive personalised dementia care support with the aim to reduce the affected family’s financial, physical and psychological burden.

NHS Scotland Innovation Project Manager opportunity

NHS Forth Valley are looking for a highly motivated individual to plan, manage and deliver agreed innovation projects within Forth Valley, NHS West of Scotland Region and NHS Scotland. The role will support the national Health Innovation Partnership and Open Innovation projects.

Closing date for applications is the 21st April 2021. If this sounds like you and are interested in applying, please click the link below.

Three new masters programmes launched with support from the DDI programme

The University of Edinburgh have just launched three new online masters degrees with support and funding from the Data Driven Innovation programme. The MSc Data Science for Health and Social Care, MSc Epidemiology and MSc Integrated Global Health were launched in March 2021 and the programmes are the first key deliverables of the Data-Driven Innovation Health and Social Care Talent programme, led by the Usher Institute. All degrees are part-time, online and are taught over three years.

Applications are now open and programme teams are looking forward to welcoming their first students in September 2021!

£8.7m collaboration seeks better route to modern medicines

An £8.7 million, five-year research collaboration led by the University of Edinburgh and FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies UK (FDB) will develop more cost-effective ways to make modern antibody-based medicines. With the support of Edinburgh Innovations, the collaboration has won Prosperity Partnership funding UK Research and Innovation.

Health Foundation funding and opportunities in 2021

Stay one step ahead with this forward look at some of the key opportunities to get involved in the Health Foundation grant programmes, research projects, networks and fellowships over the coming year.

SHIL 2021 – 2026 Strategy

Innovating Together – Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL) new five-year strategy is out now!

It details how we harness entrepreneurial talent across Scotland to accelerate impactful healthcare innovations that make a positive difference to health, social and economic outcomes; and outlines our ambitions to sit at the heart of a collaborative, entrepreneurial Scotland.

OpenAAL project / National Robotarium

Hosted by the Open Ambient Assisted Living (OpenAAL) project, part of the National Robotarium at Heriot-Watt University, the Robotics + Care Mashup will bring together academics, care providers and technologists to develop solutions for assisted living.

Get immersed in a real product development process over the course of a week (10-14 May 2021), with delegates from all around the country. Explore the use of emerging technology including cloud, robotics and the Internet of Things equipped with machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.