HealthTech challenge winners announced

Eight researchers have been awarded grants to address long-term health challenges through the development of innovative healthcare technologies.

The recipients will share more than £8 million of funding to develop new solutions ranging from next-generation prosthetic hands and endoscopy devices to cancer treatment devices controlled by the body’s electrical signals and optimising surgical interventions in the hip.

The funding has been allocated by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as part of the second Healthcare Technologies Challenge Awards call.

EPSRC Chief Executive, Professor Philip Nelson, said: “EPSRC’s Healthcare Technologies Challenge Awards are designed to equip the next generation of research leaders with the tools they need to tackle current and emerging health challenges facing society.

“These awards will help them to develop novel therapies that enhance efficiency and reduce risks to patients; create prostheses and other devices to restore normal function; produce minimally-invasive physical interventions to repair damage or remove disease; and optimise treatment for the individual, improving health outcomes.”

Winning innovations include: nanoplasmonic metapixels for multidimensional endoscopy; polymer bioelectronics for high resolution implantable devices; sensorimotor learning for control of prosthetic limbs; and wireless communication with cells towards bioelectronic treatments of the future.