Tag: ITM News

MD-TEC, our Medical Devices Testing & Evaluation Centre, recently came together with a host of local medtech and life sciences organisations to showcase the unique insight, expertise and assistance the team can offer.

The MD-TEC Connect event included talks from industry experts; 1:1 advice sessions, and presentations on the Centre’s ability to bring medical devices to market quickly and at reduced cost.

One of of the presenters was Keith Fawdington, Managing Director of Uvamed Ltd, who spoke to attendees about his experiences of MD-TEC and the opportunities working with the Centre has provided.

Uvamed has developed an innovative method of storage for anaesthetic drugs, using standardised colour coding of different drug types to help avoid errors during the administration of medication.

Funding through the European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020 (ERDF) enabled Uvamed to conduct a usability study within the MD-TEC simulation theatre. During the study, the video footage captured an error that occurred during the standard practice scenario (with medication stored in the usual method), which was not replicated when the Uvamed colour coding method was used.

Conducting usability studies throughout the prototyping and development process of devices can help innovators save money on large commercialisation costs, as well as increasing its market success.

Also keen to share her positive experience was Dr Cat Anderson, founder of Focus Medical, who is working with MD-TEC to develop of her novel combination of a medical device with an anti microbial formulation to treat embedded chronic urinary tract infections.

“We were delighted to meet with so many local businesses, and look forward to working with a number of them in the near future.

“Since opening in January 2018, we have focused on supporting Small and Medium Enterprises through the process of testing, regulatory approval and commercialisation.

“Our facilities are also open to any and all staff interested in developing a medical product commercially.”

Dr Tom Clutton-Brock, MDTEC Clinical Director

MD-TEC has also supported early stage start-up companies such as Ostique, who are developing a range of temporary embossed stoma covers to improve quality of life for the thousands of people across the UK who require stomas.

MD-TEC, based in the Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM) on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham site, is funded by ERDF to support industry, clinicians and academics develop their medical devices.

MD-TEC facilities, which include a simulated operating theatre, intensive care ward area and laboratories, as well as scientific, clinical and regulatory consultants, are available for any staff interested in bringing a medical product through the approvals and commercialisation process quickly and easily.

MD-TEC currently has funding to support any company or individual based in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) area, with alternative grant proposals available for those not based in the area.

If you are interested in finding out more, visit the MD-TEC website or contact the team at MDTEC@uhb.nhs.uk

Birmingham Health Partners and the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) – both based within the ITM – have reinforced their strong working relationship through the appointment of BHP Managing Director Dr John Williams to the WMAHSN board.

The appointment is part of a wider restructure which has seen four new strategic roles created, which reflect the priorities of the new five-year licence period for the WMAHSN – approved by NHS England last year as part of a ten-year vision to drive health innovation and stimulate economic growth.

Dr John Williams has a wealth of experience from a career in academia researching physiology, to a number of strategic positions in the professional biomedical sector at The Wellcome Trust and the Academy of Medical Sciences. These roles encompassed policy communication regarding major government reviews, launching strategic research initiatives as well as grant development and a strategic framework refresh of the Academy of Medical Sciences.

John’s broad range of experience and insight developed over his extensive career in the biomedical sector is of great benefit to both BHP and the WMAHSN. Working with the board and executive, he manages the relationships with and between partners, new and existing stakeholders and industry partnerships. Alongside this John plays a central role in creating and developing the BHP business plan and delivering strategic objectives set by the board.

Tony Davis, previously the Commercial Director with the WMAHSN, now becomes the Director of Innovation and Economic Growth. Kate Hall joins as the new Director of Implementation and Adoption. Rob Chesters will support them as the new WMAHSN Chief Operating Officer.

John and Kate will be joining the WMAHSN for two days a week while continuing their current roles at Birmingham Health Partners and UCL Partners respectively.

“The new appointments are great additions to the WMAHSN, each one recognised regionally and nationally for their contribution to healthcare and healthcare innovation.

“Our ambition is to stimulate the health and wealth of our region through innovation and so we wanted to take an innovative approach to our leadership model, creating a strong, high profile team that reflects the priorities of our new five-year licence and confidently navigates any challenges ahead.”

 Professor Michael Sheppard, Chair of WMAHSN

Initially set up in 2013 to encourage health innovation and stimulate economic growth, the national AHSN Network is made up of 15 regional organisations. In its first five years, the WMAHSN supported 3,000 companies and supported projects in 770 sites across the West Midlands that benefitted nearly 70,000 people.

Tony Davis has been with the WMAHSN since it was established in 2013.  As Commercial Director he has been leading on wealth creation and the innovation pipeline development for the organisation. Before his role at the AHSN, Tony was the CEO of Medilink West Midlands Ltd and the Chair of Medilink UK, promoting the life sciences industry to government organisations and helping SMEs in the marketplace to grow their business.

Kate Hall started her NHS career a ward clerk and since then has worked within and managed many hospital services. She has an extensive background as a senior manager having worked in a number of senior operational roles and is particularly interested in building capability for leadership and improvement, methods for effective implementation and adoption and sustainability of change.

Rob Chesters was previously the Senior Innovation and Research Manager at NHS England, within the Innovation, Research and Life Sciences Group. Prior to that, Rob was a Senior Innovation Manager at the NHS National Innovation Centre, part of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement. He has a background in Innovation policy and adoption and has led the introduction of a wide range of technologies into the NHS. Rob is also experienced in Industrial Design specialising in Medical Product design, Assisted Living and Inclusive Design.

The new structure will come into effect in April 2019.

Research and innovation in medical technology has moved up a gear thanks to the launch of the MedTech Foundation – a group aimed at bringing together students, trainees and early career researchers to drive the translation of bench research to clinical practice.

The launch event was held at the Institute of Translational Medicine in January, hosted and supported by BHP founding members University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, the University of Birmingham and the NIHR Trauma Management MedTech Co-operative (Trauma MIC). The evening saw the launch of a string of workshops targeting innovators from varying disciplines, and presented them with unmet needs in three clinical areas by experienced clinicians:

• Vascular surgery
• Colorectal surgery
• Anaesthesia and critical care

The event was a great success and subsequent workshops will see attendees form groups and learn about various parts of innovation and development such as commercialisation, IP, branding and regulations. Each team will then produce a “solution” to one of the unmet needs presented by clinical experts, and pitch their idea to a panel for the chance to win seed funding and mentorship to further develop their medical device with the support of the Trauma MIC.

Are you interested in hearing more about the programme, coming to hear the project pitches, or being involved as a delegate or facilitator in future years? If so, register for further information or download the MedTech Foundation flyer.

Birmingham Health PArtners researchers from the University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) have launched a new study funded by The Drake Foundation to review and potentially enhance concussion diagnosis in football.

This new study, supported by the Premier League Doctors Group, which is allowing access to players, is running throughout the 2018/19 football season. It involves saliva and urine samples being collected from injured Premier League players, as well as uninjured “control” players, by club doctors immediately post-match and at further time points over the course of a players’ recovery.

These samples are then being tested in BHP laboratories using a new ground-breaking test, called the ‘Birmingham Concussion Test’, which has been developed following a decade of research led by academic neurosurgeon Professor Tony Belli.

The test looks for molecules in the blood, saliva or urine known as microRNAs, which can act as biomarkers to indicate whether the brain has suffered injury. The patented technology from the University is being commercially developed in partnership with Mirna Diagnostics Limited which owns the global patent licence of these biomarkers.

This expands research also being carried out by BHP, which began in 2017 and is currently ongoing, testing the urine and saliva of concussed Rugby Football Union players.

This research is part of the ongoing REpetitive COncussion in Sport (RECOS) study, by BHP in collaboration with the National Institute for Health Research Surgical Reconstruction and Microbiology Research Centre (NIHR SRMRC).

In the future, it is hoped that the Birmingham Concussion Test could be used pitch-side and would have the potential to assist in return-to-play decisions or concussion diagnosis across sports, from grassroots to professional, in addition to military and other frontline settings.

Early and accurate diagnosis

Professor Belli explained: “Early and accurate diagnosis of concussion is one of the biggest challenges we face clinically and is particularly a major concern in the sporting world.

“This exciting new study is an important addition to the breadth of research we are undertaking into concussion and player welfare in sport more broadly.”

Dr Patrick O’Halloran, Sports Concussion Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham, Sport and Exercise Medicine Registrar at UHB, and Academy Doctor at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC, said: “This research has the potential to benefit professional, grassroots and youth level footballers alike, making the process for diagnosing concussion as effective as possible. Similarly, this may be valuable in other sports or for patients in NHS A&E departments.”

James Drake, Founder of The Drake Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation committed to improving evidence-based measures for the management of concussion injuries in contact sport, said: “We are delighted to fund this essential study in Premier League football. The conversation around concussion has come a long way in the last five years and scientific research such as this is essential in keeping our players safe.”

This latest study will also look to evaluate the effectiveness of the current Premier League Doctors Group Standard Operating Procedure for diagnosis of concussion. When a team doctor suspects a player has been concussed, the following data will be sought to accelerate and more accurately diagnose any potential concussion:

• Pitch-side assessment
• Video review of the incident at the pitch-side
• Subsequent clinical reviews of the player after the match and in the days following the game
• The time course and trajectory of recovery post injury

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a novel eye drop that rapidly reduces sight-threatening scarring to the surface of the eye.

The surface of the eye (the cornea) is usually transparent, but scars resulting from eye infection or trauma make it opaque causing blurred vision or in extreme cases complete blindness.

Their pre-clinical research, published in npj Regenerative Medicine, shows that within a matter of days the eye drop speeds healing, reduces scarring and improves corneal transparency compared to the current standard of care for Pseudomonas aeruginosa, an eye infection commonly associated with poor contact lens hygiene.

The current standard of care for eye infection are eye drops containing antibiotics and corticosteroids to reduce inflammation, followed by intensive lubrication to prevent further damage to the eye during blinking. These treatments effectively sterilise the eye, although some patients are left with visual ‘hazing’ due to scars on the cornea.

The only option to correct this is costly and cumbersome surgical interventions, such as corneal transplants, which are fraught with risks of failure or rejection.

The Birmingham scientists, led by Professor Liam Grover, Director of the Healthcare Technologies Institute (HTI) at the ITM, and Professor Ann Logan from the University’s Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, have developed the eye drop which consists of a fluid gel loaded with a natural wound-healing protein called Decorin.

Professor Ann Logan said: “This innovative fluid gel in the eye drop is designed to retain the Decorin on the surface of the eye, and form a ‘therapeutic bandage’ that promotes scarless healing.”

Professor Liam Grover explained: “The fluid gel is a novel material that can transition between a solid and liquid state. This means it contours itself to the surface of the eye, is retained there, and is only slowly removed by blinking.”

This research has shown for the first time that the fluid gel has a therapeutic effect in its own right, and the researchers believe it forms a protective barrier that protects the surface of the eye from further damage caused by blinking. The fluid gel has been patented by University of Birmingham Enterprise.

Dr Richard Moakes, also from the School of Chemical Engineering explained: “We are now continuing our work to test and refine the formulation for this novel anti-scarring eye ‘bandage’.”

Dr Lisa Hill, from the University’s Institute of Clinical Sciences, said: “The anti-scarring eye drop has the potential to vastly improve outcomes for patients with eye infection and trauma. It could also help save many people’s sight, particularly in the developing world where surgical interventions such as corneal transplants are not available.”