Showing the power of the North to US MedTech
Why we're showing off the North to the US's largest MedTech conference Advamed in Minneapolis
The Northern Health Science Alliance at Advamed: showcasing North innovation in the US
The largest medical technology conference in the US is fast approaching, from Monday, October 17, over 1000 companies will come together with clinicians, innovators and investors to showcase the latest medical technology and diagnostics.
Attending with Health Innovation Manchester (HIM), the North will have a strong presence at the conference this year. As part of the HIM team the Greater Manchester Academic Health Science Network (GM AHSN), Manchester Science Partnerships (MSP) and North-West E-Health will be present, among others, and are sure to wave a big flag for Manchester as a go-to place for innovation as well as leading the way in informatics and health data.
The NHSA will be representing the rest of the region as well, securing a number of meetings while at the conference as well as linking in with the Department of International Trade for additional events and meetings while in the US.
With the strong themes in personalised medicine, digital health and healthy ageing, the North is sure to strike real interest for companies looking to develop and clinically validate their technology in the UK.
Both National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Diagnostic Evidence Cooperatives in Leeds and Newcastle, as well as the MRC/EPSRC Molecular Pathology Nodes in Newcastle and Manchester provide an exciting opportunity for development of new diagnostic tests and precision medicine.
Alongside the extensive biomedical and basic biology expertise in Durham and York, the Wolfson Centre for Personalised Medicine in Liverpool and the four Genomic England Centres – the North contains rich infrastructure for industry working in medical technology and diagnostic development for personalised medicine.
The North-West E-Health initiative being led by Manchester is making big steps for health informatics in the North. Data and informatics play an essential role in development of any new technology and strong capabilities in this area, in addition to therapy area expertise, will be essential.
The Leeds Institute of Data Analytics (LIDA) and the Leeds Care Record, and CHICAS (Combining Health Informatics, Computation and Statictics) group in Lancaster Medical School provide strong academic groups in this area. This combined with rich digital health clusters containing spin outs and SMEs across our 8 NHSA city regions make the North the go-to place for digital health in the UK.
Clinical development of medical technology within the context of our NHS plays a key part in its uptake and adoption. Within the North we support two NIHR Healthcare Technology Cooperatives (HTCs) which are specifically set-up to work with industry for this purpose: Leeds Colorectal Therapy HTC and Sheffield’s Devices for Dignity. In close proximity to the HTC in Sheffield is the Centre for Assistive Technology and Connected Healthcare (CATCH) and the Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMRC).
Lancaster also have a Centre for Healthy Ageing looking at preventative healthcare and deep evaluation of technology within the clinical care pathway. Newcastle also host the National Centre for Ageing Science and Innovation and contain strong groups in musculoskeletal research, alongside Leeds and Manchester. York are also strong in biosensors and imaging technology while Durham are very strong in engineering, as well as host to the national Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).
And the list could go on. With the world-renowned health economic groups in both York (YHEC) and Sheffield (ScHARR) acting as the icing on the cake, the question is why wouldn’t you look North when developing your technology?
The NSHA is delighted to be able to talk about such a thriving, research intensive region and provide a point of entry for industry wanting to work in this area.
