Paul Wicks

🚀 Funding Opportunity: Innovate UK’s Digital Therapeutic XR for Mental Health Programme 🚀 Innovate UK is investing up to £3.7 million in projects developing digital therapeutic extended reality (XR) solutions to support mental healthcare services. This programme aims to advance innovative XR applications that can be scaled as part of the UK’s formal mental healthcare ecosystem. 🔹 Funding Available: £200,000 - £300,000 per project 🔹 Deadline: Wednesday 15 January 2025, 11:00 am UK time 🔹 Eligibility: UK-registered organisations developing XR-based digital therapeutic solutions for mental health Project Requirements XR Application in Mental Health: Create digital therapeutic solutions using XR, including VR, AR, mixed reality, haptics, immersive audio, and holograms. Focus on Moderate to Severe Mental Health Conditions: Develop solutions that provide real-world benefits for those living with moderate to severe mental health challenges, improving quality of life, employment, and daily activities. Scalable Solutions Across Clinical Levels: Propose solutions suitable for any stage in the care pathway with a clear potential for regulatory approval and wide-scale adoption. Acclivity Ventures offers expert grant-writing support to help UK organisations craft high-quality applications, boosting their chances of securing funding and making a real impact in mental healthcare innovation. https://lnkd.in/eEiFCEJZ

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Uniting the UK’s Health Data: A Huge Opportunity for Society’ by Professor Cathie Sudlow OBE https://lnkd.in/eW3jgjTY A review of the UK health data landscape commissioned by the Chief Medical Officer for England, the UK National Statistician and NHS England’s National Director for Transformation. The review highlights ‘the importance of bringing together data from multiple sources of data to help improve the treatment of current patients, ensuring they get the best diagnosis and the most appropriate treatment, and be sued operationally to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the NHS and health and social care systems for all’   It’s great to see UK LLC discussed (p131) as the national secure data environment for longitudinal population-based research together with a data linkage service and resource to its partner studies and a simple one-application process to UK-based researchers applying to access linked longitudinal data. As a result, it enables cross-sector research and supports researchers to respond to immediate and future policy needs ‘The greater availability of large-scale, diverse linked data from across multiple cohorts will help researchers to study rarer outcomes and seldom reached populations’.

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Privileged and exited to be one of the mentors for the Accelerating FemTech programme . 21 of the best start-ups, university spinouts and entrepreneurial-minded academics who have early-stage innovations for women’s health. These innovations have the potential to address urgent challenges in women’s health, including menstruation management, maternity and neonatal safety, menopause management and sexual health. LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/dhfA3K4d #AcceleratingFemTech

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***Ipsos UK and Imperial College Health Partners Primary care transformation report published*** Today NHS London Region publishes a report detailing the outcome and findings from a year long in-depth deliberative engagement programme involving patients (inc. less heard groups), public and staff from across the capital. Primary care services need to evolve and the system bravely chose to involve Londoners and the workforce in decision making by sharing some of the dilemmas and trade-offs relating to potential new ways of working. The public's recommendations are clear, and here are just a few of the highlights: ➡️ Digital access to primary care should be rolled out to allow convenient access to those who can engage in digital access routes, while also alleviating pressure on the system....however, digital platforms need to work which means serious investment in the infrastructure (i.e. ideally one NHS App) and capacity there that supports patient choice. ➡️ Triage should consider social factors (if they are known) alongside clinical factors, to ensure vulnerabilities, access barriers, and additional needs are considered when deciding onward care. ➡️ It is sensible to avoid every patient seeing a GP for every health need and utilisation of the wider primary care team is the way forward....however, patients need to understand what these (new) roles are, the skills these professionals have and still be given the choice to see someone else if they are not comfortable. ➡️ GP continuity will always be important to some, so people should reserve the right to see their/a GP if they want to, while recognising that this might mean waiting longer to be seen and therefore patients should be given a choice. It was an honour to co-lead this work, alongside Amy Darlington with Sadie Myhill and Jenny Gisborne. A huge heartfelt thanks goes to our wonderful commissioners Dr Agatha Nortley-Meshe, Will Huxter and Dr Charlotte Benjamin for steering the way and being bold, to the many stakeholders across the NHS and supporting sectors that informed the work, to the many skilled facilitators who supported the process (Ella Fryer-Smith, Anna Beckett, Naomi Day, James Wickett-Whyte, Chris Massey, Brian Parry, Kate Duxbury, Katharine Hurwitz, Joanna Scott, Mary Battley) and last but not least to the 100 Londoners who spent over three days grappling with the complexities, voicing what mattered most to them and cocreating the incredibly granular and useful policy recommendations. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eGX5BZ6p

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Very relevant to both Australia & Aotearoa. We do need to have more conversations like this here

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🚀 Accelerating health research: In conversation with Emily Jefferson and Rebecca Cosgriff. In this insightful video, Emily Jefferson, CTO at Health Data Research UK, and Rebecca Cosgriff, Deputy Director for the Data for R&D Programme at NHS England, discuss: ✨ The launch of the enhanced Health Data Research Gateway ✨ The role of the NHS Research Secure Data Environment ✨ How these initiatives are working together to make NHS data more accessible for approved research purposes, driving advancements that benefit us all. Learn how these collaborative efforts are unlocking the potential of NHS data for research that saves lives and drive innovation: https://hubs.li/Q02ZJtG20 NHS Transformation Directorate #ResearchPoweredByNHSData #DataSavesLives #HDRGateway #HealthData #Research

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🔍 Discover how the Health Data Research Gateway is transforming health data research.  Watch Rebecca Cosgriff and Emily Jefferson discuss how enhanced digital infrastructure is reducing administrative burden while enabling more sophisticated research queries. Proud to support UK's health research community in delivering faster, more efficient outcomes.  Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eX6D3Ber #PoweredbyNHSData Health Data Research UK (HDR UK)

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🏆 Celebrating innovation across the Oxford University Innovation ecosystem 🏆 We’re thrilled to share that several companies across the ecosystem have recently been recognised for their outstanding contributions to science and technology at the OBN (UK) Ltd awards, and also by the Institute of Physics. The OBN Awards: 🔹 Brainomix was named Most Transformative Healthtech Company of the Year for their innovative e-Stroke AI software, which helps doctors interpret stroke brain scans for faster and more accurate treatment. 🔹 Adaptimmune earned the title of Best Established Biotech Company, redefining cancer treatment with their cutting-edge cell therapies for solid tumours. 🔹 Perspectum Ltd took home the Best Established Medtech Company Award, advancing imaging solutions to support clinicians in treating liver disease, diabetes, and cancer. 🔹 Oxford Biomedica was recognised as the Most Impactful Contract Research Organisation (CRO) for their vital work enabling clients to deliver life-changing cell and gene therapies globally. In a separate achievement, Oxford Ionics won the Business Innovation Award from the Institute of Physics for their innovative work in developing quantum computers with electronic qubit control. A huge congratulations to all these teams for their incredible achievements! We’re proud to see their innovations making a lasting impact in healthcare, technology, and beyond. #lifesciences #awards #healthtech #biotech #medtech #quantumcomputing #genetherapy #innovation  

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🤔 Interesting perspective from Steve Black in the Health Service Journal on AI's role in healthcare. It gets back to the most fundamental question: What problem are we trying to solve? For us at Oxipit, it's clear—we're tackling the radiology workforce shortage by removing some of the workload. Unlike other AI solutions that only enhance speed and accuracy, we aim to fundamentally change the dynamic, allowing radiologists to focus on more complex cases and improving patient care. Read more:  https://lnkd.in/eH3k8bus #AIinHealthcare #Radiology #WorkforceCrisis #Innovation #Oxipit

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12 million people across the UK struggle to breathe. Yet respiratory disease is pushed off the agenda time and time again. Despite being the third biggest killer, respiratory diseases only receive 2% of public funding. Diagnosing respiratory illnesses and identifying when there’s something wrong with the lungs is a particular challenge. People can wait many months and sometimes years to get diagnosed despite the fact that diagnosing respiratory illnesses is essential for providing appropriate treatment, avoiding exacerbations and long term lung damage, and improving quality of life for affected individuals. That’s why we’re delighted to have collaborated with LifeArc on our joint report – Transforming Respiratory Diagnostics: The Way Forward. Read the report in full: https://lnkd.in/ehQMmn3s The report is the culmination of a year’s work, including a workshop which brought together patients, clinicians, academics, innovators and companies whose expertise and insights have shaped this report. If you’d like to work with us to transform respiratory diagnostics, then please reach out – we’d love to hear from you. A special thank you to my team Erika Catherine Grace Alice and our colleagues LifeArc catherine Steven Linda Layla Andrew. Finally a thank you Alison for helping us write the report.

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We are hosting a drop-in session for the Cambridge NeuroWorks Fellowship Programme! We had over 100 registrations for our Webinar on Tuesday- Thank you all for attending! We had the pleasure of hearing from Ahmed R A. (Cambridge NeuroWorks Programme Lead), Pippy James (ARIA Chief Product Officer), George Malliaras (Science Lead), Cathy Tralau-Stewart (What If Lead), Agnieszka Iwasiewicz-Wabnig FRSA (Blue Sky Lead) and Louise Jopling (Frontier Lead). Some of the top questions asked during our session included: ❓ What can be considered as ‘neurotech’ for this fellowship? - We encourage applications from a broad field of ideas that are linked to neurotech in any manner - In a nutshell, this includes interventions that target the brain, helping people with neurological and neuropsychiatric conditions - This may include, but is not limited to, implantable devices, wearables, combination with stem cell therapies and novel pharmaceuticals - We maintain the ethos of encouraging diverse ideas within this spectrum ❓ How is Intellectual Property (IP) handled in the fellowship? - Cambridge NeuroWorks believes in founder friendly IP, and do not seek to claim ownership - When it comes to complex arrangements, such as company affiliations, these will be addressed collaboratively - Fellows will also receive mentorship and guidance on IP ❓ Do I have to be from Cambridge to apply? - No! We welcome applicants from across the UK - Fellows will then be hosted in one of the Cambridge-based institutes depending on fellowship - You would also be part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem at Cambridge You can watch the full webinar recording on our Connect: Health Tech page here: https://lnkd.in/eHDxGi6Y Have a burning question we haven’t answered? We will be hosting another webinar tomorrow (Tuesday 14th) - please note; if you would feel more comfortable discussing your question in private, we will endeavour to take these in brief 1:1 break out rooms during this follow-up drop-in session, and we will seek to publish these questions in our general FAQ to benefit everyone. ➡️ Register for webinar: https://lnkd.in/e5cB8mb4 ➡️ Apply for fellowship (applications close 17th Jan): https://lnkd.in/eXGGNwud #aria #webinar #cambridgeneuroworks #neuroscience #entrepreneurship

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This week, the STANDING Together initiative – co-funded by the Health Foundation in partnership with the NHS AI Lab, and enabled by NIHR – published a new set of recommendations aiming to help improve the way datasets are used to build AI health technologies and reduce the risk of potential AI bias. The use of AI-enabled technologies in health care brings significant potential, from helping diagnose illness faster and more accurately, to streamlining time-consuming administrative work. However, there are already notable examples of how these technologies might exacerbate existing inequalities. This can often be a result of the inequalities reflected in the datasets used to train and test AI tools. Recognising and addressing these biases – which the recommendations seek to do – is a key step towards ensuring that the proliferation of AI-enabled technologies in health care can benefit everyone. Read more about this work and its recommendations in a news post from University of Birmingham (below) and find out more about the projects funded through our partnership with the NHS AI Lab on our website.

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We're teaming up with researchers from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) to investigate how AI technology and music can ease anxiety among people of South Asian backgrounds who are living with dementia. https://loom.ly/CCZRm9k

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The Health Innovation Network has welcomed the Innovation Ecosystem Programme (IEP) recommendations. The IEP aimed to explore how best to streamline the research, development and adoption of those innovations with the potential to make the NHS a global leader. The Health Innovation Network contributed to the work which will create a framework for innovation activity that will allow the NHS to tackle emerging healthcare priorities. Health Innovation North West Coast Chief Executive Dr Phil Jennings said: “We and our partner health innovation networks look forward to helping to implement the recommendations. “We have spent a decade developing strong partnerships with our local health and care systems, as well as with industry and our universities. “The report stresses the importance of adapting innovation to local circumstances and we will build on those relationships to deliver the report’s ambitions in a way that’s relevant to the North West Coast.” Read the report: https://lnkd.in/ePJWyDqR Read the Health Innovation Network's response: https://lnkd.in/eKjNUExB #InnovationEcosystemProgramme Andrew Cooper Tony Woods Claire Hodgson Mike Kenny Lindsay Sharples Jenni West, M.Sc Eleanor Garnett-Bentley Mandy Townsend Laura Boland NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Partnership Prof Rowan Pritchard Jones

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💻Read our new blog 💻 🏥 From paper charts to AI assistance: Prof Hatim Abdulhussein reflects on his 9-year journey in the NHS, from struggling with fax machines as a Foundation Doctor to envisioning an AI-enabled future for healthcare in 2034. This piece is part of a new blog series #MondayMusings While we've made tremendous strides in digital transformation, the Royal College of Physicians highlights that IT systems remain one of the biggest challenges to clinical practice. How do we ensure the next wave of digitisation serves both patients and practitioners? Join Hatim tomorrow as he explores these questions as a panelist at the NHS Change engagement session on shifting from analogue to digital - this is a 90-minute interactive online discussion on how technology can improve health and care. 🔗 Read Hatim's full reflection on the past and future of NHS digitisation here: https://lnkd.in/ed9anSfw #NHS #DigitalTransformation #FutureOfMedicine

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Fascinating article about Anthropic's latest innovation in #ContextualRetrieval. This is an extension of RAG and addresses the challenge of "context loss" in RAG systems by enriching text chunks with contextual information before embedding or indexing. According to Anthropic, this approach reduces the failure rate by 35%. While this improvement comes with additional efforts (Embeddings+BM25, Top-20 chunks, re-ranking, etc.), it could be particularly beneficial for business-critical scenarios. This is a really exciting development that I'm sure the engineering community would want to play with. https://lnkd.in/egisKxha #AIEngineering #Innovation

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