Pocket Diagnostics had success at the annual Bright Ideas in Health Awards alongside The NIHR Newcastle MIC and Newcastle University
The team were named winners in the Development of an Innovative Device or Technology category at the Bright Ideas in Health Awards ceremony held on Thursday, 23 March 2023. This category was sponsored by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).
The awards, now in their 18th year, recognise those who are finding new ways to improve the health and social care system, whether it’s through development of new products or technologies, changing the way a service is delivered, research methods, or collaboration opportunities.
The winners in the 10 categories receive a cash prize and support from innovation experts at the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and North Cumbria (AHSN NENC) to progress their ideas.
Chiko Mutepfa, Methodologist at the NIHR Newcastle MIC, said:
“We were honoured to attend the ceremony and collect the award on behalf of the project team. Working with the Newcastle University Stroke Research Group, we are supporting POCKiT Diagnostics with the development and evaluation of their innovative test that aims to measure biomarkers in the blood and, in combination with clinical information, increase the accuracy of severe stroke diagnosis in an ambulance.
The Newcastle University Stroke Research group are designing and implementing a clinical observational study to evaluate the accuracy of the test in a real-world patient population across four large stroke services in the north of England. The NIHR Newcastle MIC are helping with statistical analysis of this study, heath economics to examine the impact of the test on the healthcare system and by providing a public perspective through input from our insight panel of patients, public and carers.
The test has the potential to have a huge impact on patients by enabling them to be transferred to the most appropriate hospital for faster specialist treatment. We are delighted that the team were recognised as this support from AHSN NENC and CPI will really help us as we prepare the test for use on patients.”
The awards, which were supported by headline sponsor the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (NENC ICB), featured 10 categories this year.
Dr Nicola Hutchinson, Chief Executive Officer at the AHSN NENC, the organisers of the awards, said:
“Our 18th Bright Ideas in Health Awards were particularly special as it marked the first face to face ceremony since our last get together more than three years ago. Innovation played a critical role in supporting us to get through the pandemic, so it felt very poignant to reflect and celebrate everything that has been achieved within our vibrant and cohesive ecosystem.
The awards once again highlighted the breadth of entrepreneurial spirit and talent we have within the region’s health and care sector. I’d like to extend a huge congratulations to everyone who took home awards and all the innovators who continue to embrace the challenge of thinking differently. There are some incredibly exciting innovations that could make a real difference to people accessing health and care services across the North East and North Cumbria and we are looking forward to supporting these as they progress in the future.”
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