This year our Health Innovation Sprints brought together 10 clinical innovators from NHS trusts supported by Health Tech Enterprise with a community of experts who spent the day refining and expanding on each innovators novel medical technology concepts.

Thanks to our experts drawn from specialisms including product design engineering, intellectual property, regulatory affairs, health economics and funding, the ideas, new features and concepts flowed across the day. By the time they had finished the participants had expanded their business concept and pitch which they delivered to a panel of judges at the end of each day.

The Cambridge event, hosted at Anglia Ruskin University on the 17th of May 2024, featured innovators from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Homerton Hospital and the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Norwich event, hosted at the Quadram Institute on the Norwich Research Campus, featured innovators from Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust, North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust and the University of East Anglia.

The Health Innovation Sprints were kindly sponsored by our partners Venner Shipley LLP, JEB Technologies Ltd, Medovate Ltd and eg technology.

Innovation Voucher

One idea owner from each event won a prize assessed by our esteemed panel of judges led by HTE CEO Dr Anne Blackwood. The innovation vouchers, sponsored by eg technology and worth approximately £3,000 of in-kind support, were awarded to the innovation with the most potential. You can find details of the winners below.

The energy and results of these two events were incredible and we look forward to supporting each innovator to take their project forward.

Cambridge

Congratulations to the Cambridge winner ‘Sugar Babies’

Led by Dr Kathryn Beardsall, a Neonatal Consultant from Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the Sugar Babies team were looking to solve the issue of continuous glucose monitoring in babies. Preterm babies are at risk from dysglycemia. Adults and children who have dysglycemia associated with diabetes are now recommended to be provided with continuous glucose monitors to help them target their glucose control. These devices are not licensed for use in babies and are not designed in a way that they can easily be used in the preterm. The team developed a concept for a novel neonatal continuous glucose monitoring insertion device and were delighted to win the award for best pitch on the day!

Speaking afterwards Kathryn said:

What a great opportunity! To have everyone together in the same space to bounce ideas back and forth was such a great way to move things forward efficiently. I now continue to work, renewed with enthusiasm and a clear strategy.

Norwich

Congratulations to the Norwich winner ‘Womb with a View’

In Norwich Dr Rudy Lapeer, Associate Professor at the School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia, in collaboration with colleagues from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, was the worthy winner with his concept for Birth4Cast: A subject-specific digital twin to prevent adverse childbirth outcomes. Birth4Cast is a VR-based simulation software that will be capable of visualising and simulating a subject-specific childbirth before the actual event to prevent adverse outcomes. If the simulations indicate that natural birth will be problematic then a planned (or elective) Caesarean section (CS) can be decided on, as such avoiding a distinctly riskier emergency CS.

Speaking afterwards Rudy said:

Putting together a business plan in a few hours – with the tremendous help from commercial experts – still proved a real challenge, not to mention the 7 min presentation in front of four judges with significant commercial expertise. So much delighted therefore with the £3K prize and the important step to move my beloved BirthView childbirth simulation software out of its research bubble into the commercial world!

Health Innovation Sprint Results 2024

Cambridge

Congratulations to the Cambridge winner ‘Sugar Babies’

Norwich

Congratulations to the Norwich winner ‘Womb with a View’