2022 winners announced: Medilink UK Healthcare Business Awards in association with Med-Tech Innovation
Last night saw the winners announced at the sold-out Medilink UK Healthcare Business Awards Ceremony.
Over 200 industry professionals gathered to celebrate the winners of these prestigious awards. The sold-out, three-course dinner was held at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole, with entertainment throughout and complete with celebrity host Paul Sinha (ITV's The Chase).
This year’s awards recognised a multitude of achievements and outstanding contributions to life sciences. The night saw 14 winners in total, alongside 24 projects and organisations recognised who were highly commended.
The seven Medilink UK winners were chosen from an exclusive shortlist comprised entirely of winners from each of the regional Medilink awards.
The Med-Tech Innovation award winners were chosen by an independent judging panel, who represent key stakeholders from across the supply chain. The panel was tasked with assessing each entry in each of the seven categories on the merit of their contribution to the medical device engineering supply chain.
After a busy first day at Med-Tech Innovation Expo (the UK and Ireland’s leading showcase for medical device design and manufacturing technology), guests enjoyed a three-course, black-tie dinner, drinks and entertainment.
Kevin Kiely, executive chairman, Medilink North of England said: “The Medilink UK Awards have once again been a roaring success, and I offer my congratulations to all of the award winners, highly commended and finalists. It’s been great to see so many people from across the country coming together again to celebrate the exceptional achievements and contributions to the life sciences sector. As a national industry support organisation, Medilink UK is pleased to work with our companies, adding value by helping them, and the life science sector as a whole, to grow, both nationally and internationally. We are proud to be contributing to their success, and I am confident that each of the companies who are here tonight will go on to do amazing things.”
Duncan Wood, CEO of Rapid News Group added: "Huge congratulations to all of tonight's winners, runners up and finalists! It's been an amazing evening, seeing everyone come together to celebrate the incredible achievements made in the life sciences industry over the past year. We are proud to have partnered with Medilink UK again to help to celebrate the achievements made by their members and support the continued growth and development of the sector. Of course, fantastic to celebrate the achievements acknowledged in the Med-Tech Innovation Awards alongside."
Winners and highly commended entries from each category were as below:
Medilink UK Categories:
Advances in Digital Healthcare Award
Winner: Spirit Health.
Spirit Health is one of the fastest-growing companies in the UK, developing innovative products and services that empower people to take control of their own health. Spirit Health combine health and social care experience with technological brilliance to deliver CliniTouch Vie, their innovative digital health platform.
The group has been recognised as one of technology’s 50 Best Companies to Work For in 2021, as well as being named in the UK’s top 100 best mid-sized companies.
Highly Commended: Synopsis and Neuronostics.
Delivering Innovation into Health and Care Award - Sponsored by Unipart Logistics
Winner: TUTUM Medical.
TUTUM Medical are a spin-out company from TBG Solutions - an engineering company providing test capability on manufactured products to large corporate companies. Their R&D department works in collaboration with prime customers for trials and analysis of results before going live to the market.
TUTUM Medical was created as a result of one of these collaborative projects with Sheffield Children’s Hospital. TUTUM Medical focuses on partnering with NHS organisations to solve problems and improve patient care.
Highly Commended: Llesiant Delta Wellbeing and CaptureStroke.
Export Achievement Award
Winner: POWERbreathe International.
Inspiratory muscle training with POWERbreathe has been scientifically proven to strengthen your breathing muscles and is often dubbed as being like a ‘set of dumbbells for your lungs’. In 2021, POWERbreathe was recognized by the WHO as being beneficial for the recovery of COVID-19.
A major clinical trial study published by the University of Colorado showed that the use of POWERbreathe can help to lower blood-pressure, reducing heart attack risk as well as boosting cognitive & physical performance. POWERbreathe now has over 30 distributors worldwide.
Highly Commended: GBUK and High Force Research.
Innovation Award
Winner: EarSwitch Ltd.
EarSwitch Ltd’s central ethos is to provide communication devices, and control of assistive devices (such as prosthetic arms for people with amputation, and arm exoskeletons for people with paralysis or stroke).
However, its patented EarSwitch and related 5 further patents pending, expand its horizons far further; encompassing multiple platform technologies with global markets across multiple verticals.
Highly Commended: Residual Barrier Technology Ltd and YourGene Health.
Outstanding Achievement Award - Sponsored by HGF
Winner: Paxman Coolers.
Paxman manufactures and supplies the world leading Paxman Scalp Cooling System (PSCS) that is used to minimise this side effect of chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) - which is widely recognised as one of the most traumatic side effects associated with cancer treatment.
Paxman has an 80% share of the global scalp-cooling market, with over 4,000 systems installed across 63 countries.
Highly Commended: Docobo and Speechtools.
Partnership between Academia and Business
Winner: The Health Tech Hub at the University of the West of England and Somnus Scientific.
The partnership between the Health Tech Hub at the University of the West of England and Somnus Scientific has combined the Hubs core application focus of biosensing, diagnostics and monitoring, and Somnus Scientifics extensive experience in clinical research, anaesthesia and intensive care medicine.
The collaboration has resulted in the development of personalized sedation and anaesthesia which is safer for patients and better for the environment than anaesthetic gases.
Highly Commended: Surepulse Medical in collaboration with The University of Nottingham and LightOx in collaboration with Radboud University, Netherlands.
Start Up Award - Sponsored by MedTech SuperConnector
Winner: Drill Surgeries.
Drill Surgeries are developing innovative technology to reduce the excessive amounts of radiation used in the 10 million operations per year which use a metallic rod to bind broken bones. Drill Surgeries have created Artificial intelligence to provide a precision guide allowing surgeons to place everything in the right place, first time.
Their technology makes for faster, safer and less invasive surgeries, and their working prototype leads to clinical trials in the next 12 months.
Highly Commended: Heal.Med CIC and Neokare Nutrition Ltd.
Med-Tech Innovation Categories:
The 3D Printing Award - Sponsored by The TCT Group
Winner: Lucid Implants
In order to reconstruct craniomaxillofacial deformities caused by the Covid-induced surge of black fungus cases across India, Lucid Implants have developed custom implants and cutting guides to improve surgical accuracy, resulting in a 53% decrease in-hospital stay, a 73% decrease in operating theatre time, and an 88% decrease in recovery cost.
Highly Commended: Rapid Fluidics and Nexa3D.
Connected Health Award - Sponsored by Lucid Group
Winner: Acurable.
The ground breaking AcuPebble SA100 device is a tiny wearable acoustic sensor, which in 2020 became the first medical device to obtain the CE mark for the automated diagnosis of obstructive sleep apnoea, and has since gained FDA clearance for home sleep apnoea testing in the USA.
Highly Commended: PocDoc.
Design Award - Sponsored by Medical Plastics News
Winner: Lightpoint Medical.
Lightpoint Medical have developed a miniaturised robotic gamma probe designed to significantly widen the field of minimally-invasive radio-guided surgery, meeting an urgent medical need to provide real-time, intra-operative cancer detection.
Highly Commended: Sky Medical Technology.
Materials Innovation Award - Sponsored by Barker Brettell
Winner: Birmingham Biotech.
Birmingham Biotech’s BHM Anti-Viral Nasal Spray is an easy-to-use nasal device which contains Norizite(TM), a patented blend of natural ingredients to help slow or prevent viral infection. The gel-like protection coats the nasal cavity, creating a strong, protective barrier to physically trap viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, and remove them from the body.
Highly Commended: Meryl Medical.
Sustainability Award - Sponsored by Medical Plastics News
Winner: Meryl Medical.
Meryl Medical’s antimicrobial fabrics are fully recyclable innovative yarns and fabrics with zero microplastic pollution through the innovative use of hydrogen bonding to create strong molecular chains that seal all microfibres into the filaments.
Highly Commended: Birmingham Biotech.
Special Recognition Award: Response to COVID-19 - Sponsored by Med-Tech Innovation News
Winner: QuantuMDx Group.
This Q-poc multiplex diagnostic device from QuantuMDx Group offers PCR testing at the point of need within clinical and non-clinical settings, with results within 30 minutes. The SARS-CoV-2 assays have been uniquely designed to include three targets for COVID-19 to accurately detect all known strains and is robust against future variants.
Highly Commended: LumiraDx.
Engineering Award - Sponsored by Med-Tech Innovation News
Winner: Adapttech.
INSIGHT Pro is a high-resolution solution for lower limb amputee socket replication and pressure distribution evaluation within the patient socket. With CAD/CAM export and integration abilities, INSIGHT shortens the number fitting appointments and enables a more accurate fit.
Highly Commended: Superior Sensor Technology.