SBRI cultivates two medtech firms with respiratory products

Milton-based SBRI Healthcare has supported two local firms to bring their respiratory products to market.

Cambridge Respiratory Innovation Ltd (CRIL) – the firm was highly commended in the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Award – now has working market ready devices that are undergoing acceptance testing and verification.

The Swavesey-based digital health company is developing a self-care asthma monitor using its innovative N-Tidal technology, which acts as a home respiratory management tool.

It consists of an LED-based CO2 sensor that specifically measures the CO2 levels in respired breathing. The aim is to reduce the demands on primary care through greater self-management of asthma, which currently affects 5.4million people in the UK.

A variant of these devices will be used in an NiHR-funded regulatory study for asthma later this year.

Meanwhile SBRI, which is part of the AHSN (Academic Health Science Networks), has seen another of its protegés, Aseptika, receive a £116,000 grant from Innovate UK. The grant will finance further trials of Aseptika’s asthma management solution, Asthma+me.

Asthma+me is an asthma management solution that support parents and carers with children affected by asthma. It combines education sessions and an electronic care plan with its PUFFClicker inhaler-use tracker, to provide further data to clinicians.

The technology will now undergo a randomised controlled trial (RCT) on children at Sheffield Children’s Hospital.

SBRI Healthcare works with businesses to identify, co-create and develop innovative health tech solutions for the NHS by launching a series of competitions geared around solving specific healthcare challenges. The programme offers financial and commercial support to businesses and fast-track their innovations into hospitals, both in the UK and abroad. In addition to initial investment, SBRI Healthcare will support the projects by providing consultancy services, including support with the development of prototypes and access to clinical trials, to help ensure these innovations are swiftly adopted by the NHS.

Karen Livingstone, national director of SBRI Healthcare, commented: “It is fantastic to see that Aseptika is to receive further funding to support the development of its innovative asthma management solution, Asthma+me. The Asthma+me solution was developed with the support of the SBRI Healthcare pre-procurement programme, which allowed for an initial feasibility trial with parents and patients, which showed a significant increase in confidence in self-care and knowledge of how to manage asthma attacks. From this initial support, Aseptika has been able to gain further funding from Innovate UK to conduct its RCT trial.

“Asthma affects around 1.1 million children in the UK alone, and can continue to impact a patient’s health throughout their lives, so it is hugely important that innovations are created to help increase patients understanding and management of this chronic lung disease. Asthma+me addresses the ethos and themes of the NHS 10 Year plan and is the type of innovation needed to address the shortage of skilled paediatric doctors and nurses. With potential savings to the NHS through the use of this technology estimated to be in excess of £50million per annum, Aseptika is a great example of how the SBRI Healthcare programme is helping to get revolutionary medical innovations off the ground, so that they can bring real benefits to both the NHS and its patients.”