Major Funding Awarded for Innovation

November 13, 2009 – 10:35 am

Companies were invited to submit ideas that can be turned into practical solutions to make a substantial difference in three priority areas: managing long-term conditions, patient safety and keeping children active. The funding programme SBRI East is part of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), see below for details of the funding partners. The eleven winning companies are being awarded up to £100,000 in Phase 1 and have the potential to receive further financial assistance to develop and evaluate projects in Phase 2. The winners include:

Category: Managing Long-term Conditions

-Exhalation Technology Ltd and an associated company have developed a laboratory device to assess the degree of lung inflammation by analysing a patient’s exhaled breath. The project aims to develop a device that can provide a read-out within 10 minutes and can be used in a doctor’s surgery, specialist clinic or at home by patients monitoring their own condition.

-Eykona Technologies has identified a substantial and recognised unmet need in the objective measurement and characterisation of wounds such as diabetic ulcers. It is proposing to meet this need through the use of a patented 3D imaging medical device based on cutting edge technology developed in the University of Oxford and consisting of a proprietary camera and software package. The project will deliver handheld 3D imaging hardware suitable for initial evaluation by clinicians.

-Hidalgo Ltd has developed the successful Equivital sensor system, a remote, multiparameter physiological system, designed for monitoring healthy personnel with a potentially heightened risk of physical injury.  The system will provide periodic and real time continuous monitoring of the user alongside interpretative presentation of information to the healthcare practitioner and the user.

-Sonovia Ltd has developed a novel ultrasonic patch technology for use in therapeutic and drug delivery applications for patients with chronic musculoskeletal conditions. The patch approach allows problem areas to be targeted to provide direct therapy from the passage of ultrasound combined with enhanced penetration of active substances such as anti-inflammatories and analgesics.

Category: Patient Safety

-ABMS Ltd and its technology partners have developed an intravenous drug delivery system that integrates the disposable drug container within the delivery device. Preliminary concept work has shown that an RFID tag prepared by the pharmacy and attached to the drug container can be read by the device and used for automatic programming, thereby drastically reducing errors in relation to the patient therapy.

-Anaxsys Technology Ltd has developed novel patented technology for multiple applications in the medical field based on the detection of moisture in exhaled breath by a sensitive electrochemical sensor. A Respiratory Rate Counter (R8) for monitoring of respiratory rate in hospitals will undergo clinical trials in January 2010 and further developments of R8 are planned including an ambulance version for use by paramedics and an MRI compatible model. Respiratory rate monitoring gives an early indication of patient deterioration enabling healthcare professionals to intervene early, which reduces morbidity and mortality. This technology is also being used in the development of a lung cancer screening device

-Cambridge Design Partnership is developing new technology to reduce the occurrence of Ventilator Associated Pneumonia (VAP) in the intensive care unit. VAP is the most prevalent infection in the ICU, with a 10-15% incidence rate. Thousands of people die unnecessarily of VAP every year in the UK, and the cost to the NHS of treating the condition runs into hundreds of millions of pounds. The new technology aims to fully humidify the breathing air while preventing the colonisation of bacteria.

The funding programme SBRI East, part of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), was launched by NHS East of England, the East of England Development Agency, and the Technology Strategy Board in April 2009. It is being supported by Health Enterprise East (HEE), the region’s Innovation Hub, which is managing the competition on behalf of the funding partners. SBRI is also being part funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

For more details of the winners click here.

Annie Ellerton