Team Blitz India
AS part of a £10-million funding package for boosting access to medical technology, eight innovative tech companies will be supported to bring their devices to market, according to a statement from the Department of Health and Social Care and Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
It could help transform the way some of the biggest causes of death and disability are treated in the UK.
The funding is intended to support game-changing medical technology which could destroy liver cancer tumours, detect Alzheimer’s and quickly spot those at risk of stroke.
EarSwitch has produced a device which will reduce inequalities in the field of lung health. Oximeters – clipped on a fingertip – are used to assess how well the lungs and circulatory system are working. Research suggests this technology may not accurately detect falling oxygen levels in people with darker skin tones. The new device detects oxygen levels from the inner ear-canal instead, which is not pigmented irrespective of the person’s skin colour.
A device by HistoSonics aims to identify and destroy liver cancer tumours using focused ultrasound waves. Another company, Roche Diagnostics Ltd, has developed the Amyloid Plasma Panel – a blood test which could help clinicians decide if patients with cognitive impairment should undergo tests or imaging to confirm Alzheimer’s disease.
A portable blood test from Upfront Diagnostics could help paramedics identify stroke patients more quickly.
Currently, ambulance workers can’t recognise a patient with a blood clot blocking the flow of blood and oxygen to their brain, who would require urgent treatment at stroke centres rather than local hospitals. Lenus Health Ltd. is using artificial intelligence to predict patients at risk of hospitalisation for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, which causes the airways to become narrow and damaged, resulting in breathing difficulties.
Other technologies set to benefit from a share of the funding include a Multiple Sclerosis fatigue app from Avegen Ltd., a self-test device for neutropenia by 52 North Health, and a new test and algorithm developed by Presymptom Health Ltd. with the potential to predict infection status up to three days before conventional diagnosis is possible.
