Six more SMEs win funding in MedTech Navigator healthcare programme

Six additional small and medium-sized businesses have been awarded funding by the MedTech Navigator Innovation Grant scheme administered by Cambridge-based NHS medtech innovation hub Health Enterprise East (HEE).

The companies receiving grants are all developing ground-breaking tech tackling urgent healthcare priorities from Covid-19 and cancer diagnostics to cardiology and stroke prevention.

The amounts awarded are different for individual projects. The Medtech Navigator grant funds 50 per cent of eligible project costs up to £15,000. Any projects with costs above £15,000 can claim a maximum of £7,500 from the grant.

Supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and managed by HEE, the programme will now provide critical funding to Tekihealth Solutions (based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne), NS Innovations (London), Flush-Tech, Yourgene Health (Manchester), Tangi0 (London) and Anidium (Cambridge).

Tekihealth Solutions has developed Teki-Hub, a tele-medicine device connected to a lightweight wireless internet router specifically designed for remote clinical assessment, for example in care homes.

NS Innovations’ grant will support the development of SoftPower, a bespoke rehabilitation device for exercise for elderly and partially able individuals whose ability to exercise has been affected by the pandemic and those suffering from the effects of Long Covid.

Flush-Tech has developed Flush, a project providing a method to monitor fluid balance automatically to reduce dehydration-related illnesses and preventing Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), which causes 100,000 deaths per year in England alone, costing the NHS £500m annually. Flush-Tech will now collaborate with a specialist AKI lead nurse practitioner and University Hospitals Southampton to further assess user needs.

The grant for Yourgene Health will go towards the development of its expansive oncology gene panel, which uses a liquid biopsy of tumour DNA circulating in blood to identify mutations in a tumour that can be targeted by an existing therapy – less invasive than tissue biopsies, and enabling a more tailored treatment plan for cancer patients. Yourgene Health is collaborating with the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust to assess needs and suitable clinically relevant (tumour) targets.

Tangi0 has designed a virtual reality (VR) based mirror therapy application using etee with the potential to dramatically improve outcomes in post-stroke patients. Collaborating with an expert from the University of South Wales, Tangi0’s next-generation VR technology could transform the clinical options available to post-stroke patients.

Finally, Cambridge-based Anidium is developing YoHeart, a novel remote ECG solution for the early detection of atrial fibrillation, the most common cause of an irregular heartbeat and a leading cause of stroke. The grant will support an observational study to provide the first data in patients using YoHeart, conducted with the help of leading cardiologists at the Royal Papworth NHS Foundation Trust and managed by Papworth Trials Unit Collaboration.

Station Road-based Anidium, which incorporated in 2015, has integrated consumer electronics and machine learning for YoHeart, which is a wearable ECG device designed and developed to help earlier diagnosis of heart abnormalities “at the most accessible cost”.

Graham Dempsey, chief commercial officer of Anidium, said: “We’re thrilled to receive the Medtech Navigator innovation grant from Health Enterprise East, which is helping to support the development of YoHeart.

“It is a fantastic endorsement of the significant improvement that our novel remote ECG solution can deliver in detection of atrial fibrillation, a heart condition responsible for one in 10 strokes.

“We’re looking forward to working with the Royal Papworth NHS Foundation Trust and its Trials Unit Collaboration for the next phase.”

Commenting on the news, Joop Tanis, director of MedTech Consulting at HEE, said: “The early phases of medtech product development can be precarious, which is why tapping into the expertise available from both clinical and research settings is so important. Not only do these six winning innovations offer much-needed solutions to some of the most pressing areas of care, they also serve as a beacon of inspiration to other would-be innovators, by demonstrating that with a collaborative approach, clever ideas can indeed become a reality.

“We’re excited to see these award-winners embark on the next stage of their development journeys and can’t wait to continue to work with them as their products evolve.”

The grants are paid on completion of the project and different projects have varying durations.

The new cohort brings the overall value of projects supported by the scheme to more than £200,000.

The next phase of grants from the total funding allocation of £300,000 will be announced later this year, each supports SMEs during early product development to encourage further innovation in areas of unmet need.

Funding details here.