Kinesis Health Technologies, the Irish medical technology company, has been selected as an industry partner to participate in a new NHS Innovation 'Test Beds' initiative to improve patient care in the UK.
This major initiative, to modernise how the NHS delivers care, was launched by Simon Stevens, chief executive, NHS England at the World Economic Forum in Davos at the end of last week.
These collaborations between the NHS and innovators such as Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences), IBM, Philips and SMEs such as Kinesis Health Technologies, aim to harness technology to address some of the most complex issues facing patients and the health service in the UK.
Frontline health and care workers in seven ‘test bed’ areas will pioneer and evaluate the use of novel combinations of interconnected devices such as wearable monitors, data analysis and ways of working which will help patients stay well and monitor their conditions themselves at home.
Successful innovations will then be available for other parts of the UK to adopt and adapt to the particular needs of their local populations.
Kinesis Health Technologies, a University College Dublin (UCD) spin-out company headquartered at NexusUCD, the university’s industry partnership centre, has been selected to participate in two of the seven ‘test beds’.
The company will be deploying its innovative QTUG™ mobility and falls risk assessment technology at scale in the Care City Health and Care Test Bed in North East London and the Perfect Patient Pathway Test Bed in the Sheffield city region.
Assess falls risk and mobility impairment in older adults
Kinesis QTUG™ aims to reduce incidences of falls in older adults and combines advanced technology, including body-worn sensors, with the clinical standard Timed Up and Go procedure into a solution that can be used to assess falls risk and mobility impairment in older adults.
Simon Stevens, chief executive, NHS England said: "Over the next decade major health gains won’t just come from a few 'miracle cures', but also from combining diverse breakthroughs in fields such as biosensors, medtech and drug discovery, mobile communications, and AI computing.
“Our new NHS Test Beds programme aims to cut through the hype and test the practical benefits for patients when we bring together some of these most promising technologies in receptive environments inside the world's largest public, integrated health service."
Seamus Small, chief executive officer, Kinesis Health Technologies said: "We are honoured and delighted to be participating in the NHS Innovation Test Beds initiative. To collaborate with NHS and other leading innovators is an excellent opportunity to evaluate and advance the adoption of innovative solutions and practices, including QTUG™, our evidence-based mobility and falls risk assessment technology, into the NHS.”
The Care City Health and Care Test Bed will promote healthy ageing across a million-strong population in northeast London and brings together University College London Partners, Health Analytics, Orion Health, Kinesis Health Technologies and eight other innovators to test and evaluate combinations of innovative technologies that can help patients to manage their own health conditions and to remain as independent as possible, supported by carers who will receive the information and connections they need co-ordinate care.
The Perfect Patient Pathway Test Bed, aims to create the ‘perfect patient pathway’ to bring substantial benefits for patients in the Sheffield city region suffering from long term conditions, such as diabetes, mental health problems, respiratory disease, hypertension and other chronic conditions.
This test bed will keep patients with long-term conditions well, independent and avoiding crisis points which often result in hospital admission, intensive rehabilitation and a high level of social care support. Working in partnership with GE Finnamore, IBM, Kinesis Health Technologies and 12 other innovators, the local health and care system will set up an integrated intelligence centre to help get people the help they need, when they need it most.