RMPD staff have taken first prize at this year's annual NHS Innovation awards for Innovative Technology. The ceremony was held aboard The Salient on the River Thames. They received a prize of £4,000 to help further develop their ideas, presented by Health Minister Jane Kennedy. The 17 regional finalists were joined by their families, NHS Trust chief executives and representatives from industry, universities and the Department of Trade and Industry.
Consultant Medical Physicist Bill Allan and his team in the Clinical Measurement Section in our Sunderland Unit took five years to develop their device, the Sunderland Air Pressure Meter, for patients who have had their larynx removed due to cancer and have lost the ability to speak. The team developed the device which measures air pressure in the patient's windpipe, allowing doctors to choose the right prosthetic speech valve to help patients talk again. Without the device, trial and error is the only way for speech and language therapists to identify and select the right valve for the patient.
Bill Allan said: "Our device helps patients who have had their voice boxes removed. These patients lose their voices and cannot communicate with anyone. By measuring the air pressure and displaying it on a computer screen, speech and language therapists can choose the right valve to allow the patient to speak again, and monitor the patient's progress. I am delighted to receive this award today, it recognises the hard work of everyone who has been involved."
The Sunderland Air Pressure Meter is manufactured by a Washington-based company, Canford Audio, and is being sold to hospitals across the country. It is CE marked and the team are looking into new markets abroad.
Further details of the Sunderland Air Pressure Meter are available in our Innovations section.
Health Minister Jane Kennedy said: "I am extremely impressed by the standard of innovation and by the commitment shown by all the NHS health professionals here today. This is innovation at its very best - providing solutions in response to real problems and human need. The initiatives captured by NHS Innovations show the huge capacity for innovation that exists in the NHS, amongst those who work in a healthcare environment everyday, and the benefits this can bring to patients, inventors, the NHS and the economy. Through the regional centres we can make sure these good ideas are properly developed and ensure the NHS remains at the forefront of innovation."
The awards celebrate the most innovative ideas to come through NHS Innovations, which consists of a network of nine regional innovation hubs each serving the NHS organisations in their area. These hubs help NHS Trusts to develop their understanding of innovation. They provide a place for NHS staff to develop their innovative ideas, and offer advice on licensing the best products and services to the industry. The products can then be accessed by the NHS and other healthcare markets.
The concept for NHS Innovations was developed in 1998. It is network of regional intellectual property management organisations across England. This network now comprises of nine NHS Innovations Hubs based on the nine English Regional Development Agencies. Until the Hubs were created, an employee with an exciting innovation had nowhere to go. Good ideas leaked out, often going abroad, and any benefits to the inventor, the NHS and UK industry were lost. The Department of Health provides the Hubs with £2 million a year in core funding. The Hubs are also funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Regional Development Agencies.
17th October 2005
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