June 2025 Newsletter

Last month, we had the privilege of welcoming the new CEO Lawrence Tallon and colleagues from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to Edinburgh for the first MHRA Board meeting held in Scotland, underlining agency’s commitment to regional health equality and growth. After the Board meeting, we hosted a joint meeting at the Usher Institute, The University of Edinburgh with leads from the research, development and innovation ecosystem from NHS Lothian/South East Scotland and the University of Edinburgh to cover RD&I environment and support, inclusive of translational research and commercialisation, access to data and an understanding of the VPAG Investment Programme and implementation plans in NHS Lothian. Presentations on the agenda were well received from Professor Alasdair Gray, Samantha Smith-Garrett, Jane Redford, Kathy Harrison, and Roger Halliday.

We are delighted to share our successful submission for the online poster showcase at the 2025 NHS Scotland Event. Scan the QR code or visit via the link below to find out more about the Flok Health pilot project in NHS Lothian. The UK’s first AI-powered physiotherapy clinic unlocking faster, personalised treatment for thousands of patients with nonspecific lower back pain. Thanks to the authors: Samantha Smith-Garrett, Ryan Orr and Phil Ackerman from NHS Lothian and Finn Stevenson, Chris Ellaway-Barnard from Flok Health.

On Thursday 22nd May, colleagues from the HISES were delighted to attend the 2025 NHS Lothian Research and Development Conference, held at the John McIntyre Conference Centre in Edinburgh. This year’s conference centred around the theme “The Evolving Landscape of Clinical Research in NHS Lothian.” The day featured a range of presentations and discussions with over 10 inspiring and influential speakers. HISES were also invited to host an exhibition stand to connect with attendees and showcase the Innovation Hub role in fostering healthcare innovation across the region and across Scotland.

On 4th June 2025, the HISES team had the opportunity to attend the second Scottish Cross-Sector Hub event, hosted by NHS Research Scotland and organised by the Academy of Medical Sciences. Held at the COSLA Conference Centre in Edinburgh, the event brought together professionals from across the NHS, academia, and industry, all aligned in a shared mission to advance research and innovation in Precision Medicine and Precision Population Health.

The National Robotarium (NR) has shared a vision to create a Health and Care system at the forefront of the healthcare revolution globally, where staff teams are seamlessly supported by robotics and artificial intelligence. Over the past two years, The NR team have engaged with a wide range of NHS and Care organisations, hospital estates and private businesses with health tech innovations. From window cleaning robots in new hospitals, to catering, pharmacy and vent cleaning in established sites, a wide range of challenges have been scoped. On 10th June, the NR invited the three CSO Innovation Hubs to discuss collaborating on pilots & pipeline for robotics in healthcare. The intent would be to agree with Scottish Government, CSO, NHS and the NR, 3-5 practical applications of robotics and AI to use in the Robotics and Heath Pilot to achieve the objective of demonstrating the technology and the pathways that will enable to grow this at scale in future and have a significant impact on health and care in Scotland and more widely for the UK. We look forward to sharing more about this exciting partnership as it develops.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have developed the ‘world’s first’ soft robots which can be 3D-printed and walk straight off the production line – powered by compressed air.

The plastic devices, which require no electronic parts, represent a potential breakthrough in robotics that can be deployed in critical industries including nuclear decommissioning, the biomedical sector and in space.

NHS Lothian and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are working with Aival to test AI products for stroke and lung cancer triage. The project, funded by Innovate UK, aims to speed up AI adoption in the Scottish NHS by using Aival’s evaluation platform. The evaluation will help verify AI performance across diverse patient populations and monitor it post-deployment.

An Edinburgh life sciences tech firm has launched a new AI platform to rapidly accelerate drug discovery – and slash detection time for genetic diseases. BioXcelerate has created an advanced trusted research environment where users can access a range of cutting-edge analytical tools to manage and search genetic datasets. Their technology is cutting the time taken to detect genetic variants leading to life-limiting illnesses like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease by more than 98%. This means processes the used to take days, now take minutes, driving faster breakthroughs in genetic research.

Scotland will be home to the UK’s most powerful supercomputer, with up to £750 million for the project confirmed in the Spending Review, to drive forward innovations that grow our economy and ensure people are better off, putting Edinburgh at heart of the UK’s plans to unlock a decade of national renewal through artificial intelligence.

Compute power has endless possibilities, and could power breakthroughs such as:

🩺 personalised medical treatments
🌎 modelling climate change
✈️ making air travel sustainable

Investing in Britain’s renewal will enable the UK’s future research to be as innovative as ever.

Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh are proud to announce the launch of their collaborative new MSc in Biomedical Engineering, designed to develop the next generation of leaders at the intersection of healthcare, technology, and innovation. Rooted in the world-leading research and teaching excellence of both institutions, this new programme offers a future-focused curriculum that brings together engineering, digital health, and clinical applications. With a strong emphasis on industry collaboration and real-world impact, students will gain critical skills in areas such as medical device development, AI in healthcare, and rehabilitation technologies, preparing them to drive transformation across health and care systems.

A Scottish Government minister launched a new data and artificial intelligence (AI) skills framework to boost business and communities in a bid to reduce barriers to up-skilling for data and AI. The Data and AI Skills Framework builds on the work of the Data Skills for Work project, part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal Data Skills Gateway Programme.

The Framework aligns with Scotland’s Digital Economy Skills Action Plan (2023-2028), which emphasises the importance of equipping the workforce with the necessary digital competencies to support Scotland’s economic vision.

The Scottish Government has become the first administration in the UK to use an artificial intelligence tool to analyse public responses to consultations – with “promising results”.

Consult’, built by the UK government as part of the Humphrey suite of AI tools, has been used to speed up analysis of what the public and experts said in a consultation about regulating non-surgical cosmetic procedures.

The tool is now set to be used across UK Government departments in a bid to slash millions of pounds spent on outsourcing analysis to expensive contractors – helping to build a productive and agile state to deliver ministers’ ‘Plan for Change’.

A major independent evaluation led by researchers at The University of Edinburgh has highlighted the transformative impact of the NHS Artificial Intelligence (AI) Lab, and identified key lessons to guide the future of AI in health and care.

The evaluation, led by Usher’s Kathrin Cresswell, Professor of Digital Innovations in Health and Care, brought together an interdisciplinary team from The University of Edinburgh. The team drew on wide-ranging expertise across public health, social science, informatics and business disciplines. Delivery of the evaluation was supported by NHS Arden & GEM Commissioning Support Unit, whose health economics team contributed analysis on value for money and system-level impact.

Organisers of Scotland’s Health Research and Innovation Conference can now confirm that the deadline for abstract submissions to the conference has been extended until 5pm, Friday 20 June. Those who are in the process of submitting, or are considering submissions are asked to review the guidance on the conference website and submit as early as possible to ensure they do not miss out.

The event will take place on Thursday 23 October at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) under the theme of ‘Research Enabled Health Innovation’ with more than 500 delegates expected to be present.

Nominations are now officially open for Scotland’s Health Awards 2025, offering a unique opportunity to recognise and celebrate the extraordinary individuals and teams who go above and beyond to deliver compassionate, high-quality health and social care across Scotland.
Launched at the NHS Scotland Event in Glasgow by Neil Gray MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, the awards shine a light on the unsung heroes of our health and care services – from frontline staff to those working tirelessly behind the scenes. The 2025 Health Awards includes an Innovation category. All winners will be announced on Thursday 6 November 2025 at the awards ceremony.

Deadline for submitting nominations is Midnight on Sunday 17 August 2025.

Innovate UK’s Addiction Healthcare Goals Accelerated Knowledge Transfer (AKT) scheme is now open for applications, with an anticipated close on 2nd July 2025 at 11am. This call will fund projects exploring questions linked to treatment of, recovery from, and reduction or prevention of harm by drug and/or alcohol addiction(s); jointly delivered by Innovate UK and Innovate UK Business Connect and is funded by the Addiction Healthcare Goals from the Office for Life Sciences, with up to £2 million available in this round.

We are delighted to announce that the second annual AI Challenge for Scottish public sector organisations are now open! The Futurescot AI Challenge 2025 is a competition to bring together Scottish public sector organisations to solve problems through the use of Artificial Intelligence. The challenge offers multiple benefits for participants:

Gain insight into the application of AI.
Explore and accelerate AI use cases with no financial and minimal resource commitment.
Shortlisted organisations will receive an in-person workshop and proof of concept to bring their idea to life. As well as a chance to show their idea at the biggest yearly public sector digital transformation event in Scotland.

Applications close on 22nd August 2025.

The InnoScot June webinar, entitled ‘The new Post-Market Surveillance legislation for medical devices – what you need to know’, includes knowledgeable guest speakers offering useful insights to medical device manufacturers and other innovators on key legislation. This free to join session will encourage healthcare forward-thinkers to learn more about vital new Post-Market Surveillance (PMS) requirements and how to successfully, systematically navigate them.

The lunch time session will take place on Wednesday, 25th June from 12pm – 12:45pm.

Holyrood Connect’s revamped AI & Cloud Innovation Summit is back! Join us on 11th September 2025 at Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh to explore the future of digital public services in Scotland. As AI reshapes the way government operates and cloud technologies drive efficiency and security, this summit will bring together experts, policymakers, and public sector technology professionals to discuss the opportunities, challenges, and strategies for harnessing AI and cloud technology. This event is designed for public sector professionals involved in technology, digital transformation, IT infrastructure, data management, and AI implementation.

Delegate registration is now open for the HDR UK Conference 2025 – the UK’s No.1 conference on health data science!

Details of the keynote speakers, abstract submission and registration can be found on the website. The 2-day hybrid conference will take place across 15th and 16th October 2025 at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), Exhibition Way, Glasgow. The event will celebrate progress and bring people together to accelerate the trustworthy use of health data for public benefit. This is an event dedicated to celebrating how health data science can improve people’s lives. With leading exhibitors and a variety of networking events, this is an event to add to your calendar!

First MHRA Board meeting held in Scotland, underlining agency’s commitment to regional health equality and growth

HISES Poster Showcase for 2025 NHS Scotland Event

NHS Lothian Research and Development Conference 2025

ACCORD 2025 Annual Review

Scottish Cross-Sector Hub Event: A Day of Collaboration and Innovation in Precision Health

Robotics for Healthcare Pilot

’World’s first’ soft robots developed by scientists at the University of Edinburgh

Scottish hospitals are starting a £1m project to evaluate AI safety in healthcare

Edinburgh life sciences tech firm launches new AI platform

The University of Edinburgh will be home to the UK's most powerful super computer

Shaping the Future of Health Innovation: New MSc Biomedical Engineering Launches in Edinburgh

Minister launches new data and AI skills framework to boost business and communities

Scottish Government ‘first in UK’ to use AI tool for analysing consultation responses

Independent evaluation highlights impact and future potential of NHS AI Lab

Abstract Submissions for the Scotland’s Health Research and Innovation Conference Deadline Extended

Nominations Now Open for Scotland's Health Awards 2025!

Addiction Healthcare Goals – Innovate UK AKT Applications open!

Futurescot AI Challenge 2025 competition now open!

The new Post-Market Surveillance legislation for medical devices - what you need to know

AI & Cloud Innovation Summit 2025

HDR UK Conference 2025 – Registration open!

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