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Accelerating FemTech: Announcing the new cohort

Published and last updated by Saffron Ward

Health Innovation Network South London welcomes 21 innovators to cohort two of the Innovate UK and Medical Research Council Funded Accelerating FemTech Programme.

Today, the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London is proud to announce the launch of the latest cohort for their Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council-funded Accelerating FemTech programme. 21 companies have been chosen for their work in driving innovation across a wide range of women’s health needs, from improving menstrual and reproductive health with advanced diagnostics and wearable technologies to enhancing support for women experiencing menopause.

 

Other innovations in Cohort Two include digital solutions that improve pregnancy outcomes and support women throughout their postpartum journey, apps that assist users in hormonal health monitoring, as well as personalised healthcare platforms designed to provide data-driven insights and support at every stage of a woman’s life.

 

Despite comprising over 51% of the population, women have historically been underrepresented in medical research and underserved in healthcare innovation, leading to gaps in diagnosis, treatment, and care. FemTech solutions have the potential to transform this landscape and drive systemic change to ensure equitable and accessible healthcare for women, strengthening the overall health system. The FemTech sector also represents a rapidly growing market - in 2023, the global FemTech industry was valued at over £39 billion - with the potential to drive economic growth in the UK.

 

This year, Accelerating FemTech received 122 applications, a 42% increase compared to its inaugural cohort, reflecting the growing interest and innovation in the FemTech sector. Applicants ranged from entrepreneurially minded academics and university spinouts to early-stage startups and established businesses, showcasing the diversity and depth of talent in digital transformation within women’s health. Of the companies that make up Cohort Two, 29% are university born, 71% are female majority owned and 33% are majority ethnic majority owned.

 

Building upon the expertise gained from running the award-winning DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, Accelerating FemTech is a specialised programme dedicated to advancing women’s health innovations. It offers bespoke support, targeted workshops, and mentoring to enhance product development, entrepreneurship skills, and stakeholder engagement across the NHS and academia. The national 10-week programme will also support participants in preparing for a special closed-call feasibility funding opportunity through the Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst.

 

The delivery of Accelerating FemTech is led by the HIN in collaboration with partners across the UK, including: DigitalHealth.London, CW Innovation, Health Innovation West of England, Health Innovation East Midlands, Health Innovation West Midlands, Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber, Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria, Health Innovation North West Coast, the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) Scotland, Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI) and others.

"The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London is thrilled to welcome these 21 innovators to Cohort Two of the Accelerating FemTech programme. This year’s response highlights the increasing momentum behind FemTech as a driver of change in addressing unmet needs in women’s health. With the support of Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council, we look forward to working with and supporting these companies to deliver transformative solutions that improve outcomes and experiences for women in the UK."Rishi Das-Gupta, Chief Executive for the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London
"We are thrilled and honoured to be selected for the Accelerating FemTech program. This prestigious initiative provides invaluable support and mentorship that will propel Daye to the next level. As a mission-driven company dedicated to empowering people with innovative solutions for their intimate health needs, this opportunity aligns perfectly with our core values and growth objectives. The expert guidance and resources offered through Accelerating FemTech will help us refine our strategy, scale our impact, and continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible in FemTech. We're excited to collaborate with this esteemed network and drive meaningful change for women's wellness."Valentina Milanova, Founder and CEO of Daye (Accelerating FemTech - Cohort Two)
"I am honoured to have been selected to participate in the Accelerating FemTech Programme. It is extremely inspiring to see a specialised initiative backed by the UK government dedicated to addressing current challenges in Women’s Health. I am looking forward to learning from the Accelerator’s unparalleled network of healthcare experts so that together we can create meaningful change in the way we view and treat pregnancy sickness."Fatima Pabani, Founder and CEO of SIPS (Sickness in Pregnancy Support), (Accelerating FemTech - Cohort Two)
"We are incredibly honoured and thrilled to be selected for this programme. This opportunity is a timely and invaluable opportunity for my skills development and our growth as a small company, and we believe this is exactly the step we need to gain momentum, connect with the right people, and acquire the knowledge essential to advance our product. Additionally, the tailored support for preparing for Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst funding is particularly appealing. Our focus on a women's health issue, which often lacks prioritisation and investment, makes this funding vital for an SME like ours to make meaningful progress on the project."Liam Good, Chief Scientific Officer of Tecrea, (Accelerating FemTech - Cohort Two)
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Bridging the UK’s gender health gap: supporting innovators in women’s health

Published by Saffron Ward

Accelerating FemTech supports early-stage companies, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics from across the UK with innovations that address urgent challenges in women’s health. The programme supports innovators to gain commercial and funding momentum for long-term success through an intensive learning programme of workshops, mentoring and peer collaboration, as well as support to prepare for a special feasibility funding opportunity through the Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst.  

In this blog, Accelerating FemTech advisory board member Katherine Church explores the role of support programmes for innovators in women’s health in enhancing the lives of women. Katherine, who is Women’s Health Practice Director at SmartCo Consulting and Chief Digital Officer at KC Digital Consultancy, also highlights how uplifting innovators in this field – and in particular women founders - could be the key to changing the tide for the gender health gap in the UK.

In the UK, women (cis and trans) specific health and care has been woefully under researched and underinvested. As most countries around the world battle with greater health risks for men, women in the UK are facing the largest female health gap in the G20 and the 12th largest globally. It can take an average of 7.5 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis and in the last 40 years, only two new medicines have been approved for use in pregnancy.

Beyond sexual, reproductive and maternal health, there are also stark inequalities across many common diseases, such as cardiac health, inflammatory diseases and chronic pain. Unfortunately, this is a trend that is repeated across the world. As outlined by the World Economic Forum’s ‘Closing the Women’s Health Gap’ insight report, women spend 25% more time on average in ‘poor health’ than men.

With mandatory teaching and assessment relating to women’s health for medical students only being introduced this month, from the 2024/2025 academic year, the UK’s gender health gap is a systemic issue. Women’s health is stigmatised, and women's health startups often lack the commercial and funding support they need to reach the women who need their products. On top of this, the research data which supports the development of business and investment cases is limited. For example, it was only in 1993 that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) mandated for government funded clinical research to include women.

This, in addition to general underfunding for women’s health in the UK, exacerbates the issue. In 2022/2023, the Department of Health and Social Care and its Agencies spent a total of £176.8 billion on health and care services, though only £25 million had been pledged in March 2023 for women’s health hubs in England.

Women entrepreneurs also face additional barriers in securing funding, with only 2% of all UK venture capital (VC) going to women-led businesses in 2021. The funding disparities faced by women founders are often made worse by:

  • Role models

    It's hard to be what you can't see. There are not enough women in senior positions in startups and investors, making it tough for women to see themselves in those roles. It’s even worse for Black women, for disabled and queer women.

  • Accessing mentorship and support

    Female founders often lack access to mentorship and support networks, which can make it difficult to navigate the challenges of starting a business. This can be particularly true for women from underrepresented backgrounds, including women from the global majority and women from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

  • Balancing work and family life

    Some female founders face the challenge of balancing work and family life, particularly if they have caring responsibilities.

Some other barriers faced by innovators in the women’s health sector include:

  • Data and research gaps

    Women's health is often under-researched, which can make it difficult for founders to develop evidence-based products and services. This can also make it challenging to attract funding and support from investors who may be sceptical about the potential market size or growth prospects.

  • Regulatory hurdles

    The UK's regulatory environment can be a complex and challenging for women's health startups. Founders may need to navigate multiple regulatory bodies, such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which can be time-consuming and costly.

The barriers that innovators are facing in this field are vast, but I have seen through my work across the sector that Femtech entrepreneurs are ambitious, resilient and determined to make a difference to real women’s lives. At its core, Femtech empowers women with greater control and understanding of their health, transforming how they experience, manage and access healthcare. There is innovation in every conceivable area of women’s health – we are bursting with incredible, considered solutions, which are designed with women and for women. This is exemplified by companies from last year’s cohort of the Accelerating FemTech programme. Alumnus company Bloume, for example, is the world’s first AI-powered digital solution for chronic pelvic pain, providing psychological support and pelvic floor physiotherapy to improve women’s physical and mental health. Elsewhere, P.Happi are set to revolutionise the way we address women’s intimate health concerns by developing innovative biome-protective products.

Founders in women’s health have the solutions, but now they need the space, support and funding to flourish. As outlined by Lord Darzi’s independent investigation of the NHS in England, innovation and reform go hand-in-hand for driving change. This is why innovator support programmes are vital in changing the tide for innovators in this space.

Through networking, mentoring and introductions to key stakeholders, Accelerating FemTech provides early-stage companies, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics with invaluable opportunities. Through the programme, founders can unlock the support, knowledge and funding they need to drive their innovations forward, creating a more inclusive and equitable healthcare system.

Accelerating FemTech

Apply to be part of Accelerating FemTech

Applications for the programme are open until midnight on Sunday 13 October 2024.

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Learn more about the programme: 101 Webinar

This is your chance to learn more about the Accelerating FemTech programme, engage with members of the programme delivery team and some of the companies who have been previously supported on Tuesday 1 October from 12:30PM to 1:30PM.

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Patient and carer involvement at the heart of TeleRehaB project

Published and last updated by Saffron Ward

The TeleRehaB Decision Support System (DSS), supported by European Union and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funding, is an international partnership for developing artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for people experiencing balance issues after a stroke, or people experiencing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or long Covid-19.   

 

As part of the project, the Health Innovation Network South London (HIN) is running a series of workshops for professionals, patients and carers to provide feedback to the clinical and technical teams, which will be used to shape the development of the project. Karla Richards, Senior Project Manager for Innovation, reflects on key insights from the latest workshop and the importance of patient involvement for research and innovation in this field.  

In the UK, 1.3 million people have survived a stroke. However, up to 73 per cent of people who have had a stroke experience a significant fall within one year. Many of these people experience balance issues, as the body is affected by symptoms including weakness, a loss of sensation and vertigo. Balance retraining exercises and physiotherapy are key to improving the lives of people experiencing balance issues. TeleRehaB is developing an AI-based Decision Support System to support effective and affordable balance rehabilitation for patients experiencing balance issues after a stroke, or people experiencing Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) or long Covid-19. 

 

In July, we hosted the TeleRehaB Patient and Carers event in London, bringing together an international group of researchers to gather feedback from patients with a balance issue and the carers of people with a balance issue. During the event, researchers demonstrated the TeleRehaB system, a collection of new Augmented Reality (AR) solutions that will assist the rehabilitation of people with Vestibular (balance) issues. The group of patients and carers were then invited to try out the technologies and share their feedback.  

 

The patient-facing Telerehabilitation system consists of a mobile app, a set of sensors to be worn on the body and an AR headset. There is also a Clinician Dashboard, which captures patient data and shares it with the patient’s physio or clinical team to support decision making and monitoring. The TeleRehaB system will empower patients to complete their balance rehabilitation with the support of a virtual “physiotherapist” from their home or another convenient setting. This will save time and money, as clinicians will work with the patient remotely, monitoring progress and making updates to rehabilitation programmes through the Clinician Dashboard. It also makes rehabilitation programmes more accessible, as patients that cannot easily travel can complete their exercises at home or another location.  

 

At the Patient and Carer event, the latest version of the TeleRehaB system was tried out by attendees who were split into two groups and supported by the TeleRehaB DSS team to test the solutions. One group began with the TeleRehaB patient mobile app, designed for patients to self-manage their rehabilitation and the use of the Telerehabilitation system. The app sends reminders for daily tasks, prompting patients to complete their exercises. The testing was followed by a feedback session and survey, where participants reflected on their experiences using the app and whether it could be integrated into their daily routines. Participants commented on the ease of navigation in the app but there was some confusion over how the notifications appeared on screen, and how some of the prompts were unclear.  

 

The second group started with the body sensors and AR headsets. Participants completed numerous “exergames” to test their balance, whilst sitting down and standing up. “Exergame” is a term used in rehabilitation to describe games that make you exercise. At the event, one of the “exergames” saw patients bobbing their heads to point at and follow virtual objects as they changed position in the room. The patients and carers were particularly enthusiastic about these interactive technologies. In the feedback, they expressed that they were a fun and engaging way to test their balance and monitor their progress. However, there were also comments on the need for clearer instruction to understand each game and the comfort of the headsets. Several participants were surprised to discover that distance glasses made it hard to see the games, whilst others were concerned their reading glasses would not fit inside the headset.  

 

The feedback collected at the Patient and Carer event is now being used by the TeleRehaB team to steer the development of these technologies, as individual solutions and a whole system. For example, the mobile app developers were so excited by the authentic feedback they received, that following the event they immediately created some new mock-ups of the screens for the app. The workshop highlights the importance of patient involvement for innovations, especially through different stages of development, as patients can highlight new perspectives, preferences and barriers to real-world integration that would have otherwise been overlooked. This feedback has been critical for the development of the TeleRehaB system, which will be entering a multi-site clinical trial in the next stage of the project. 

 

Watch the TeleRehaB DSS Patient and Carer event highlights video to learn more about the event. 

 

For more information about the TeleRehaB DSS project and its partners, visit https://telerehab-project.eu

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Please get in touch for more information about our work on the TeleRehaB Decision Support System (DSS) project.

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The power of collaboration to push forward maternity care

Published and last updated by Saffron Ward

Accelerating FemTech supports early-stage companies, university spinouts and academic entrepreneurs from across the UK, who are looking to take their early-stage innovation to the next level. These innovations will address current challenges in women’s health, including maternity and neonatal safety.

 

As applications open for this year’s programme, advisory board member Professor Asma Khalil, Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine at St George’s Hospital and the Vice President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), highlights the importance of innovations for addressing real-world challenges she has witnessed in maternity care. Professor Khalil also discusses how innovator support programmes helped her develop her own FemTech innovation, HAMPTON, and what more can be done to support innovators in this field.  

In March 2015, Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, announced a major review into maternity services. The resulting National Maternity Review (Better Births) report, which was published in February 2016, drew on the experiences of women and their families. The report set out seven key proposals to tackle a range of issues, from enhancing the safety of care to providing impartial information to empower women to receive personalised care.

 

Disappointingly, the latest Maternity Survey from CQC and the NHS Patient Survey Programme, which involved 121 NHS trusts in England, reveals that many people’s experiences of maternity care have in fact deteriorated in recent years. Out of the 26 questions asked, 11 show statistically significant downward trends between 2018 and 2023, whilst only 1 question had an overall positive response. For example, the survey states that 60% of women asked said they ‘always’ received the information and explanations they needed, compared to 65% in 2018. These responses come as no surprise to me. As Professor of Obstetrics and Maternal Fetal Medicine at St George’s hospital, I have witnessed clear concern amongst patients regarding maternal safety, and since the experiences of Covid-19, staff can be demoralised, with reduced resilience to stress and difficult working environments.

 

It is clear that there are some complex challenges at play in maternity care; but what is the way forward? In the Better Births report, the importance of innovation was highlighted as a key vision for maternity care. In order to deliver “women centred” care, all staff must be supported in “organisations that are well led and in cultures which promote innovation, continuous learning, and break down organisation and professional boundaries.”

 

I have seen from my own experience as a clinician and inventor that technological innovations have the potential to improve efficiency, conserve resources and enhance staff wellbeing and patient experience. However, it is paramount that innovators are supported from the earliest stages. By making strong connections with key stakeholders from the very beginning, innovators can grow their innovations for where they’re needed most, in quicker and more effective ways.

 

Programmes like Accelerating FemTech can be the difference between just the seed of an idea and a fully developed innovation that can begin to address urgent women’s health challenges. During the development of HAMPTON, a digital innovation which enables pregnant women to monitor their blood pressure safely at home, I enrolled on two innovation support programmes. By participating in the National Innovation Accelerator and DigitalHealth.London’s Accelerator, I was able to develop new entrepreneurial and commercial skills that ultimately shaped the development and implementation of HAMPTON.

 

As the only practising doctor in my cohort of the National Innovation Accelerator, I came into the programme with a different range of skills and experiences to my peers. Networking, peer learning and pitching practice gave me the opportunity to form bonds with founders who had commercial experience and to learn about new avenues where I could refine and market my innovation. In return, I was able to share my knowledge on the importance of patient involvement and co-development, as well as navigating the NHS with peers from a commercial background.

Mentoring throughout the programmes also allowed me to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both my approach and the innovation itself, as well as reaching new networks and opportunities in the UK and beyond. By facilitating a space for collaboration across different fields, the innovation support programmes enabled me to blend together academic, clinical and commercial skills, which are key to long-term success.

 

Beyond programmes of support specifically for FemTech, such as Accelerating FemTech, it is important that stakeholders actively champion the uptake of innovation in women’s health. The RCOG have a major role in this, issuing national policies and guidelines for the practice, as well as facilitating training and education to improve women’s health.

 

A clear next step to support innovators would be the introduction of an innovation hub in the RCOG, focused on women’s health. This would build on the fantastic work already being done by innovation support programmes, such as Accelerating FemTech, by providing a space for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), industry, academia and clinicians to come together and etch out the future of women’s health, with innovation at the forefront. It is vital that start-ups and innovators with emerging ideas are given the space and support to collaborate, whether that be by asking research and clinical questions to experts or by building their networks to access key stakeholders. By realising an ecosystem that champions innovation as a tool for improvement, FemTech founders can access the support, knowledge, skills and experience they need to make real change in women’s health and care.

Accelerating FemTech

Apply to be part of Accelerating FemTech

Applications for the programme are open until midnight on Sunday 13 October 2024.

Apply now

Learn more about the programme: 101 Webinar

This is your chance to learn more about the Accelerating FemTech programme, engage with members of the programme delivery team and some of the companies who have been previously supported on Tuesday 1 October from 12:30PM to 1:30PM.

Sign up to the webinar
Logos for all Accelerating FemTech partners, including the HIN, Digital Health.London and Innovate UK

Applications open for Accelerating FemTech

Published and last updated by Saffron Ward

Today, the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London has opened applications for the second cohort of Accelerating FemTech to further support the issues raised within the Women’s Health Strategy. Funded by Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council, the programme helps early-stage companies, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics focused on women’s health to gain the commercial and funding momentum they need for long-term success.

 

Building upon the expertise gained from running the award-winning DigitalHealth.London Accelerator, Accelerating FemTech is a specialised programme dedicated to advancing women's health innovations. It offers bespoke support, targeted workshops, and mentoring to enhance product development, entrepreneurship skills, and stakeholder engagement across the NHS and academia. The programme will also support participants to prepare for a special closed-call feasibility funding opportunity through Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst.

The delivery of Accelerating FemTech is led by the HIN in collaboration with partners across the UK, including: DigitalHealth.London, CW Innovation, Health Innovation West of England, Health Innovation East Midlands, Health Innovation West Midlands, Health Innovation Yorkshire and Humber, Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria, Health Innovation North West Coast, the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre (DHI) Scotland, Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI) and others.

 

On the announcement, Rishi Das-Gupta, Chief Executive for the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, and Anna King, Commercial Director for the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London, reflect on how Accelerating FemTech will support innovators working to address urgent challenges in women's health:

“Women’s health is an area with vast opportunities for innovation. From female-specific areas like maternal health, fertility, gynaecological cancers, and menopause, to conditions that disproportionately or uniquely impact women, such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease, we have designed Accelerating FemTech to inspire and empower innovators to address these critical challenges, providing them with the knowledge and support they need to advance work within this space.”Anna King, Commercial Director for the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London
“The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London is excited to be running the Accelerating FemTech programme for a second consecutive year. Supported by Innovate UK’s Biomedical Catalyst (BMC) in partnership with the Medical Research Council, this programme underscores the critical importance of collective expertise and collaboration in advancing innovations in women’s health. I look forward to collaborating with health and care leaders across the UK to help close the gender gap in the industry and drive meaningful progress in women’s health.” Rishi Das-Gupta, Chief Executive for the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London

Ten companies from the inaugural cohort of Accelerating FemTech were awarded a share of over £1 million through the Biomedical Catalyst. Their successful projects focus on a range of women’s health problems, including menstruation management, maternity and neonatal safety, as well as cervical screening.

 

Among the successful companies is IBEX Innovations Ltd, whose innovative detection software, IBEX Bone Health, can be integrated into routine breast cancer screening programmes, facilitating early detection and diagnosis of osteoporosis. Another winning company is Joii Ltd, who are empowering people who menstruate to track their period symptoms and utilise latest scientific insights to enhance their understanding of gynaecological health.

 

Dr Samana Brannigan, Head of Health Technologies at Innovate UK, reflects on the vision for the Biomedical Catalyst and the support accelerators, including Accelerating FemTech, can provide for innovators in this field:

“The vision for the Biomedical Catalyst is to support early stage businesses to grow by translating their ideas into innovative products and services that can improve patients’ lives and boost UK economic growth. We are pleased to be able to build on the success of last year’s accelerators, working in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, to inspire new spinouts and start-ups, and create a pathway to commercialisation from our excellent research base.”Dr Samana Brannigan, Head of Health Technologies at Innovate UK

On the announcement of Accelerating FemTech opening for applications, Laura Dickens, Associate Director of Industry Partnerships at Medical Research Council, said:

“We are delighted to partner with Innovate UK and the HIN on the Accelerating FemTech programme to build on the success of the first round. We look forward to seeing the novel ideas that come forward and how those develop through the programme to create a pipeline of both academic-led and business-led innovations, which are then able to progress towards societal and economic benefit through accessing funding opportunities from Medical Research Council, Innovate UK or the wider innovation ecosystem.”Laura Dickens, Associate Director of Industry Partnerships at Medical Research Council

Accelerating FemTech is open to early-stage companies, university spinouts and academic entrepreneurs from across the UK who are looking to take their early-stage innovation to the next level. Learn more about the programme by reading Accelerating FemTech: FAQs.

 

Applications for the programme are now open until midnight on Sunday 13 October 2024.

Accelerating FemTech

Apply to be part of Accelerating FemTech

Applications for the programme are open until midnight on Sunday 13 October 2024

Apply now

Learn more about the programme: 101 Webinar

This is your chance to learn more about the Accelerating FemTech programme, engage with members of the programme delivery team and some of the companies who have been previously supported on Tuesday 1 October from 12:30PM to 1:30PM.

Sign up to the webinar
Logos for all FemTech partners, including the HIN, Digital Health.London and Innovate UK

Funding success for Accelerating FemTech companies

Published by Saffron Ward

In 2023, the Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London and DigitalHealth.London launched a new initiative, Accelerating FemTech. The programme, utilising Innovate UK funding as part of the Biomedical Catalyst, in collaboration with the Medical Research Council, set out to support innovators focused on addressing key challenges in women’s health. Participating companies also prepared for a special closed call funding opportunity through the Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst.  The fund supports organisations to complete feasibilities studies, helping to drive new innovations to make impactful change.

 

10 companies from the first cohort of Accelerating FemTech have since been awarded a share of over £3m through the Biomedical Catalyst. Their successful projects focus on a range of women’s health problems, including menstruation management, maternity and neonatal safety, as well as cervical screening. Amongst the successful companies is IBEX Innovations Ltd, who are revolutionising bone health for post-menopausal women. Currently, an estimated 80% of osteoporosis cases go undetected due to inadequate screening and prolonged waiting times for bone density scans (DXA). IBEX’s innovative detection software, IBEX Bone Health, can be integrated into routine breast cancer screening programmes, facilitating early detection and diagnosis of osteoporosis.

 

Another funded company, Joii Ltd, are transforming patient management of heavy menstrual bleeding. One in three women experience heavy menstrual bleeding, yet many struggle to secure a diagnosis and deal with debilitating pain. By using artificial intelligence (AI), Joii empowers people who menstruate to track their period symptoms and utilise latest scientific insights to enhance their understanding of gynaecological health.

 

The Accelerating FemTech alumni are also addressing other important women’s health issues, including chronic pelvic pain, urinary tract infections and the pre-operative preparation of breast cancer patients. Dr Samana Brannigan, Health of Health Technologies at Innovate UK, further highlights the importance of supporting innovators working on urgent health issues, sharing:

“The innovation shown by the organisations that took part in all four accelerators was incredible. The feasibility studies being funded will help improve the lives of so many people and create commercially viable businesses.” Dr Samana Brannigan, Health of Health Technologies at Innovate UK

Sara Nelson, Programme Director at the HIN and DigitalHealth.London, celebrates the success of the Accelerating FemTech alumni, stating:

“I am so pleased to be able to share the celebrations of 10 Accelerating FemTech companies, who will receive Biomedical Catalyst funding to develop their fantastic solutions to real women’s health problems in the UK today. This success reflects the companies’ hard work and dedication throughout the Accelerating FemTech Accelerator programme, which was led by the HIN."Sara Nelson, Programme Director at the HIN and DigitalHealth.London

Sara also reflects on the journey of the Accelerating FemTech alumni, sharing:

"Our experienced Accelerator team, as well as partners from across the country, worked tirelessly to support these innovators, from workshops and mentoring sessions to tailored support for their Biomedical Catalyst applications. I hope the funding will allow these companies to develop evidence, leading to faster, safer and more convenient care for all women.”Sara Nelson, Programme Director at the HIN and DigitalHealth.London

The diversity of issues addressed by these projects highlights the growing need for innovation to improve outcomes for women living with ill health and disability. It also underscores the significance of programmes like Accelerating FemTech that support innovators in this space. Notably, 100% of the first cohort of companies expressed their willingness to repeat the programme. They emphasised that conversations with experts provided valuable insights for developing their projects and businesses, expanding their networks, and ultimately equipping them for their Biomedical Catalyst application.

 

Building on the success of the pilot, the 10 week Accelerating FemTech programme will return later this year, expanding its offerings. Applications will now be open to small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs), university spin-outs and academics focused on women’s health challenges. Innovators will benefit from targeted workshops, bespoke mentoring and Biomedical Catalyst funding preparation. The programme aims to enhance product development, entrepreneurship skills and stakeholder engagement across the NHS and academia.

 

Sara continues: “We look forward to welcoming applications from innovators for the next cohort of Accelerating FemTech, which we are announcing soon. Register to find out more about the programme and to be informed when applications open.”

 

The full list of FemTech projects that have been awarded Innovate UK BioMedical Catalyst funding can be found here.

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Find out more about Accelerating FemTech and register your interest to be informed when applications for the programme open.

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Charting the Course: Regulating AI in Healthcare – Lessons from the Road

Published by Saffron Ward

Post Title

Artificial intelligence (AI) has exploded onto the scene, capturing headlines and fuelling debates about its transformative potential. While excitement buzzes around its capabilities, the legal and regulatory landscape struggles to keep pace and often highlights risks.

In this blog, HIN Chief Executive Dr Rishi Das Gupta and NHS AI experts Dr Haris Shuaib and Dr Hatim Abdulhussein discuss the parallels between traffic regulation and maintaining oversight of these emerging technologies. 

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee inquiry into Large Language Models (LLMs) was published on 2nd February, 2024 and highlighted that these models, a powerful subset of AI, showcase not only the immense opportunities AI holds but also the potential “technological turbulence” that may arise as they become more pervasive. Contributions made by Rishi to the evidence can be found here.

Navigating the ethical and regulatory landscape surrounding this powerful technology can be daunting. As we steer towards a future intertwined with AI, it’s crucial to establish guardrails that ensure its safe and responsible use. Here, we might draw inspiration from an unexpected source: traffic regulations. While seemingly disparate, regulating AI in healthcare shares remarkable parallels with regulating driving. A colleague in the field commented recently: “If we were as risk averse in road technology as we are in healthcare AI we’d never have let cars on the roads in the city”. Let’s delve into these similarities and explore how they can inform our approach to AI governance.

Shared Ground: Safety, Evolution, and Responsibility

Both driving and AI regulations share three core objectives:

  1. Prioritising Safety: Both aim to minimize harm, whether on the road or in healthcare delivery. Just as reckless driving endangers lives, poorly designed AI can lead to misdiagnoses, treatment errors, and privacy breaches.
  2. Adapting to Change: Traffic laws have evolved alongside technological advancements, from horse-drawn carriages to self-driving cars. Similarly, AI regulations need to be dynamic, anticipating the ever-evolving nature of AI and its integration into healthcare workflows.
  3. Promoting Responsible Conduct: Drivers, companies employing drivers and vehicle manufacturers are held accountable for their actions, and so should AI developers and users. Fostering a culture of responsibility is essential for ethical and trustworthy AI implementation.

Learning from the Road: A Categorical Framework

Traffic regulations categorise offenses based on severity and consequences. While the laws change infrequently (the Road Traffic Act 1988 is now 35 years old), the guidance is updated often (the highway code was updated in 2022). The categories used in the UK are careless driving and dangerous driving. In addition, we have categories related to consequences, that apply to both individuals (e.g. causing death by dangerous driving) and companies operating fleets of vehicles and manufacturers (corporate manslaughter).

We can adapt this structure to AI in healthcare:

  • Careless / Inconsiderate AI: This covers irresponsible data handling or quality, non-compliance with ethical principles, and failure to meet minimum standards for transparency and explainability. This could include:
    • Using biased datasets without mitigation strategies.
    • Failing to obtain proper informed consent for data collection and use.
    • Developing AI models without adequate documentation and explainability tools.
  • Dangerous AI: This includes biased algorithms, lack of robustness, potential for unintended consequences, and vulnerabilities to manipulation. This could include:
    • AI models perpetuating existing societal biases in healthcare decisions.
    • AI systems susceptible to hacking or manipulation, leading to compromised data or altered outputs.
    • Lack of built-in safety features and safeguards to prevent unintended harm.
  • High-consequence AI: This encompasses situations where AI directly impacts patient outcomes, such as misdiagnoses or inappropriate treatment recommendations. This could include:
    • Clinical decision support systems leading to incorrect diagnoses or treatment plans.
    • AI-powered drug discovery tools generating harmful or ineffective compounds.
    • Algorithmic failures resulting in adverse patient events.

Navigating the Road Ahead: A Proposed Approach

Drawing on the lessons from traffic regulations, we propose a three-pronged approach to governing AI in healthcare:

  1. Establish Clear Principles and Transparency: AI developers and users should adhere to well-defined ethical principles, focusing on aspects like data privacy, fairness, and accountability. Transparency in algorithm development and decision-making is crucial for building trust and more work is needed to understand the level of interpretability and explainability AI developers should adhere to.
  2. Implement Minimum Codes of Conduct: Regularly updated codes can ensure responsible data storage, development practices, and deployment across various AI domains within healthcare. These codes could address:
    • Data governance and privacy standards.
    • Algorithm development and testing protocols.
    • Deployment guidelines and risk mitigation strategies.
  3. Focus on Consequences and Evidence-based Use: Companies and healthcare institutions should be incentivised to provide evidence demonstrating the safety and responsible use of their AI models and ensure there is adequate monitoring of these technologies when deployed in practice. This encourages a proactive approach to risk mitigation and promotes continuous improvement. This could involve:
    • Requiring pre-market approval for high-risk AI applications.
    • Implementing post-deployment monitoring and evaluation systems.
    • Holding developers and users accountable for AI-related harms.

Charting the Future: The UK’s Potential Leadership

The UK, with its diverse population, centralized healthcare system (NHS), and robust regulatory framework, is well-positioned to play a leading role in shaping the responsible development and governance of AI in healthcare. By leveraging existing structures like accredited AI testing centres and fostering open dialogue with stakeholders, the UK can pave the road to a future where AI empowers healthcare professionals to deliver better, safer care for all. The analogy to traffic regulation holds here too. We should invest in infrastructure and environment where the need is greatest – our cars today travel faster and are safer than three decades ago. This is due to focusing investment in adapting our environment to make this happen, for example, we put traffic lights at junctions where the risk of collisions is highest or where there is a history of accidents occurring. Investing in the environment and monitoring infrastructure will help the UK be the place to come to develop, deploy and build the evidence for safe AI.

Conclusion

The road ahead for AI in healthcare is full of promise, but also potential pitfalls. Humans in healthcare must be in control of its development to ensure it is safe, effective and ethical. By learning from the established framework of traffic regulations and adapting it to the unique context of healthcare, we can develop a comprehensive and flexible approach to governing AI. Let’s work together to ensure that AI becomes a powerful tool for good, shaping a future where technology and ethics go hand-in-hand to improve patient outcomes and advance healthcare for all.

About the Authors:

Dr Rishi Das-Gupta is Chief Executive of the Health Innovation Network (South London), is on the Board of the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (South London), DigitalHealth.London and NodeNs Medical and is a member of the NHS London Clinical Senate.

Dr Haris Shuaib is Head of Scientific Computing at Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS FT and director of the Fellowships in Clinical AI programme he is also the founder of Newton’s Tree a company focussing on using AI in clinical practice.

Dr Hatim Abdulhussein is Medical Director of Health Innovation Kent, Surrey and Sussex and National Clinical Director for AI and Digital Workforce at NHSE.

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Introducing Mindset: a new ecosystem to help immersive technology developers improve the UK’s mental health

Published and last updated by Saffron Ward

Post Title

The Health Innovation Network (HIN) South London and UKRI recently announced a multi-year innovator support programme focused on the use of immersive therapeutics for mental health. In this first blog about the programme, HIN Executive Director for Digital and Transformation Dr Amanda Begley discusses the context of the project and why we believe emerging extended reality technologies offer real hope for the millions of people impacted by mental illness in the UK.

I am thrilled to be writing the first blog on our partnership with UKRI for the Mindset-XR Innovator Support Programme.

Stimulating immersive innovations in mental health will require the involvement of a wide range of skills from different sectors, including those who may not have traditionally brought their expertise to health and care challenges. In particular, the creative industries such as gaming, artists and visual production will bring genuinely innovative perspectives and novel solutions.

We were inspired on hearing about some of the Strand 1 Mindset-XR funded projects recently, which cover a range of immersive technology, such as extended and virtual reality using headsets, remote touch, music and sounds, and mobile gaming. These novel solutions will offer support to people with anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder psychosis, and dementia. A further cohort of projects – funded through Stand 2 – will be announced soon.

In our first blog I wanted to share why we are so passionate about supporting the development and acceleration of UKRI’s Mindset-XR programme and to ask you to join us in driving forward new solutions for those in need of support:

The scale of the mental health challenge

The impact of poor mental health set out in the recent Government’s Mental Health and Wellbeing plan discussion paper makes for difficult reading. Approximately one adult in six has a common mental health condition; more than 60% of children and young people who have a diagnosable mental health condition do not currently receive NHS care, and two-thirds of the growing number of people who end their life by suicide are not in contact with NHS mental health services.

There are also huge disparities – people facing social and economic disadvantage have a much higher risk of developing mental health conditions, and there are significant inequalities related to ethnicity, age, sexuality, gender, neurodiversity, and long-term physical health conditions. The Kings Fund recently published a series of Mental Health 360 reports outlining these issues in greater detail.

Merely expanding current services is not a feasible or complete solution. Our Mindset programme aims to co-develop solutions with lived experience partners and bring to market a broader range of accessible innovative technologies – technologies that will help people to live well and support them to recover when they are in need.

At the HIN, we recently engaged over 870 service users and members of the public to explore their experiences and sentiments towards digital health technologies (DHTs) in the context of mental health. We found that overall there was openness toward digital adoption and a recognition that DHTs can help make services more efficient and user experience better. The insights we gathered have informed a set of recommendations to improve acceptability and usage of digital within mental health. We will actively use these recommendations to inform our Mindset Innovation Support .

The UK immersive technology sector has the potential to be world leading in bringing solutions to market.

The opportunity for growth is well documented in the recent UKRI-funded report The Growing Value of XR in Healthcare, citing existing evidence of the effectiveness of immersive technology for neurodevelopmental disorders, psychotic disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, and eating disorders. The report also states that while immersive technologies will never replace face-to-face therapies, there is a positive view towards the use of virtual reality by therapists and the public.

The 2022 Immersive Economy in the UK report highlights that immersive technology in healthcare has experienced the highest growth rate in the number of businesses over the previous five years (88%) of any comparable innovation area. Close to 40% of immersive tech companies are within the health sector. The report also states that private investment in immersive technologies reached £224m in 2021 and investments in the first half of 2022 totalled at nearly 90% of the amount raised in 2021.

We will shortly be hosting a roundtable to discuss how we stimulate investment in immersive technology for mental health, which will be led by HIN’s chair Hitesh Thakrar. Let us know if you’d like to see the output.

Through collaboration – with UK wide reach and a breadth of expertise – we can help to bring immersive tech safely into the hands of patients and staff.

When bidding for the programme, we rapidly formed a brilliant team of collaborators with expertise in areas including:

  • understanding the need for innovation;
  • the immersive and digital technologies market;
  • navigating the NHS for adoption and spread;
  • regulatory, legal and ethical requirements; and
  • clinical study design.

However, we are learning all the time about more individuals and teams across the UK with a passion for – and expertise in – immersive and digital health technologies and mental health.

We want to expand the Mindset innovator support collaboration – bringing our collective skills and networks together with yours to support innovators, enable people to connect and ultimately to help our service users and staff by improving access, experience and outcomes.

Our collaboration includes:

  • The Health Innovation Network provides geographical coverage of health and care organisations and Universities across England, alongside having established relationships across Wales and Scotland through our collaborators: Health Innovation North East and North Cumbria, Health Innovation North West Coast and Health Innovation South West.
  • Health Innovation Research Alliance Northern Ireland (HIRANI) is an alliance of universities, health organisations and other industry bodies, established to drive and support ambitious growth in Northern Ireland’s Life and Health Sciences sector.
  • Hardian Health has an experienced multidisciplinary team which provides significant experience of bringing medical devices to market including regulatory consultants with MHRA and notified body contacts, medical doctors, health economic experts, market strategists and an intellectual property attorney.
  • Hill Dickinson LLP will provide pro bono support with experience and expertise in providing advice, training and materials on regulatory issues, IP, data protection, contracting and market access digital health, mental health, and immersive technology.
  • Kings College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) will lead our clinical study design training. The IoPPN is an internationally-recognised centre of expertise focused on how we understand, prevent and treat mental illness, neurological conditions, and other conditions that affect the brain.
  • MQ Mental Health Research is the UK’s leading mental health research charity with an extensive network across lived experience, clinical, policy, research, industry and investors. MQ will lead on service user involvement and training for grant recipients, alongside bringing in their network to the Mindset community.
  • XR Health Alliance have over 7 years’ experience working to support transdisciplinary collaborations – connecting the creative, XR and healthcare sectors to support the adoption of XR in mental health. Through delivery of the Growing Value of XR in Healthcare Report, and global expert mission to engage key international stakeholders, they have built a network of national and global leaders in immersive technologies.

There will be lots of opportunities to collaborate and contribute to the programme – so if you want to be part of this exciting new immersive tech opportunity, then please sign up to our Mindset Innovator Support Programme newsletter to hear about our events and networking opportunities.

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Virtual wards: developing business cases to unlock patient and system benefits

Published and last updated by Saffron Ward

Virtual wards offer the promise of providing safe, high-quality care at home. Recently, the Health Innovation Network South London and NHS England (London Region) have collaborated on a number of events and projects to help understand the challenges and opportunities related to virtual wards in London.

In this blog Dr Sanjay Gautama, Chief Clinical Informatics Officer for OneLondon and consultant anaesthetist, discusses how well-developed businesses cases are important to help realise the full benefits of virtual wards for patients.

Virtual wards already appear to be delivering a positive impact to patients across London and are playing an important role in giving patients the choice to receive safe and high-quality care at home.

However, with operational and financial pressures on NHS services perhaps more pronounced than they have ever been, justifying investment into the wider spread and implementation of virtual wards requires the development of sustainable and robust business cases.

Developing the business case for an emerging new model of care can be a significant challenge – with issues such as a paucity of evidence, fractured data sets and a rapidly-evolving technological offering all making it difficult for providers or commissioners to pull together comprehensive benefits assessments.

Given these issues, NHS England (London region) and the Health Innovation Network South London recently brought together key stakeholders from across the capital to understand the most critical considerations for virtual wards business cases and to review the evidence at hand.

Key findings from the subsequent report included reflections on operational priorities, such as the potential for virtual wards to provide admission avoidance rather than only step-down care, and the importance of near-seamless integration into existing services.

The report also summarises evidence from four key areas of benefit identified so far in real-world virtual ward implementations:

The report provides practical, experience-based information about the challenges of optimising virtual wards, as well as guidance on structuring business cases and appropriate measurement and evaluation.

We hope that our newly-published report will prove useful for anyone working in this space across health and social care.

Download the full report

View our full paper for detailed information about the benefits and considerations for virtual wards business cases.

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Patients are on board with digital tools in primary care: now it’s time for us to make the most of their potential

Published and last updated by Saffron Ward

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In 2023, NHS England (London) commissioned the Health Innovation Network South London to undertake a significant research project looking at Londoners’ experiences of using digital tools to access primary care services.

Following the publication of a report entitled Patient Perspectives on Digital Access to Primary Care, which summarises the research, we hear from Matthew Nye, Director for the Digital First Programme at NHS England (London), about where the digitisation of primary care stands in 2024.

Through early pilots we identified digital tools have an important role in improving patient experiences and outcomes in primary care; when we expanded the programme across London in 2019, one of our key ambitions for using digital technology was to improve access to the right care at the right time, as well as increase personalisation and efficiency of care.

Nearly five years later, the patient voice captured in our Patient Perspectives report demonstrates that we are realising more of those ambitions across London.

It is very positive to see that three quarters of the Londoners we spoke to are now using digital tools to interact with their GP surgery.

We know from this survey, and other work that has taken place locally and nationally, that digital tools such as consultation forms, the NHS App and GP practice websites can really help patients access the right kind of help more quickly for their specific need.

These tools can often help to triage patients more efficiently than relying on busy telephone lines. For patients, that means less time wasted and faster access to appropriate support – whether that is seeing a GP in person, getting advice from a practice nurse, physiotherapist or pharmacist or being able to complete a task such as ordering a repeat prescription online.

Capturing the patient voice

The unexpected Covid-19 pandemic forced an unprecedented change to how patients could access and interact with health care services, and the implementation of “digital first” was accelerated, resulting in the rapid rollout of many digital technologies into primary care.

Feedback from GP practices suggested that, for some patients, the digital tools  and new processes implemented at a practice or local level worked well, but the pace of change made it difficult for us to get a truly comprehensive view of what patients thought about these digital tools.  A key recommendation from the report included improved communication with patients to build awareness and understanding of the digital tools available in primary care, facilitate signposting and better manage patients’ expectations.

More than 3,000 patients shared their views with the Health Innovation Network South London for this report. This has meant that we’ve been able to get a really good idea of what is and isn’t working for patients. Using the results of the survey and themes captured from the focus groups, we can work with colleagues at every level of primary care across London to continue to improve the use of digital tools and effectively embed this with implementation resource.

The case for investing in change

We know that primary care services across London are very stretched and busy. Finding the time to improve GP websites, optimise online services and integrate the NHS App might seem like a tough ask.

However, the survey and focus groups have demonstrated the value that patients see in using digital tools, as well as highlighting some clear recommendations for improvement.

Patients want to use these channels to manage their own health in a more convenient way, but sometimes they are running into frustrating issues with poorly designed forms and websites, consultation forms only being available for part of the day, or not being able to access a full range of online services via the NHS App.

We are confident now that practices have the right digital tools and the objective is to improve the balance between what patients want and the processes/pathways provided by primary care to achieve improved outcomes, greater efficiency and a good user experience.

This report plays an important role in building the case for primary care to invest in supporting GP practices to improve the use of digital tools, and proactively encourage patients to sign up to and use digital tools where appropriate. If you can enable the majority of patients to quickly and easily complete tasks online, it is likely they will engage. That, in turn, reduces pressure on clinical and administrative staff and frees up time for the interactions that require a face-to-face or a phone call, including supporting digitally excluded patients who might not feel confident or are unable to use digital tools.

One of the key recommendations from the report is driving up quality, standardisation and compliance with usability and accessibility standards, whilst ensuring that there is consistency with digital tools and they are available all day.  A focus on this will have a direct positive impact on addressing digital exclusion, through making sure that more people can make use of digital tools if they choose to.

Patients suggested that GP surgeries build in mechanisms to capture timely feedback to enable continuous improvement of digital tools and pathways. It is clear that the need and use for digital tools in primary care is very much in the present, rather than the future. This is an exciting place to be – and more reason than ever to listen, embrace and deliver in line with the expectations and recommendations of patients.

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