A health minister visiting Nexus today has announced an additional £4m of funding to support the development of new health tech innovations.
One of the ten companies to benefit includes PinPoint Data Science, which is based at Nexus, the University’s innovation hub, enabling them to seamlessly connect with the research and expertise in Leeds.
Speaking at the innovation event at Nexus, Baroness Blackwood, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, said: “As demand on the NHS continues to grow, it is vital we harness the power of technology to improve patient care and to help people live longer, healthier lives.”
The event welcomed innovators, investors and senior leaders from across the NHS for roundtable discussions, networking and a showcase of health tech innovation projects.
“It is vital we harness the power of technology to improve patient care and to help people live longer, healthier lives.”
Cancer diagnosis
PinPoint’s project which received funding is a machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) Cancer Rule-Out Test for the NHS ‘Two Week Wait’ referral.
The ‘Two Week Wait’ referral is a request from a General Practitioner (GP) to ask the hospital for an urgent appointment, because symptoms might indicate a patient has cancer.
In partnership with University of Leeds and Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the project aims to combine data in a machine learning/AI system that can identify with high accuracy those patients who do not have cancer.
These patients can then be safely returned to GP, where other possible causes of their symptoms can be investigated.
Expertise in Leeds
Dr Mike Messenger, Head of Leeds Centre for Personalised Medicine and Health, is part of the research team working with PinPoint Data Science.
He said: “Leeds really excels at bringing the right expertise together to address population health and care needs with scientific and medical advances.
“The better we can understand disease and ill health, the more we can make informed decisions for individuals, which means more effective and higher quality care.
“Leeds really excels at bringing the right expertise together.”
“PinPoint is at the forefront of health data science, developing digital technologies in partnership with the NHS to transform our approaches to detecting and diagnosing cancer.
“By developing new ways to distil the vast and ever-increasing complexity of biomedical data and research into simple tools, they will help doctors make more informed decisions and give their patients the best possible care.”
“This is about developing digital technologies in partnership with the NHS to transform our approaches to detecting and diagnosing cancer.”
Cutting edge digital health
The £4m funding marks the culmination of £35m of government funding, through the Digital Health Technology Catalyst (DHTC), which has supported over 200 small and medium-sized enterprises.
Andy Jones, Head of the DHTC for Innovate UK said: “The projects we have announced today represent the cutting edge in digital health.
“And the showcase in Leeds demonstrates that these technologies are making a difference on the ground.
“By backing these innovations we will build on the UK’s global leadership in life sciences and help to create the industries and jobs of the future.”
“The showcase in Leeds demonstrates that these technologies are making a difference on the ground.”
DHTC is part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Visit UKRI’s website for more information.
Further information
More information about PinPoint Data Science can be found at: https://www.pinpointdatascience.com/
Pinpoint’s research team also includes Professor Richard Neal, Professor of Primary Care oncology at the University, who advises PinPoint on the practical considerations necessary to achieve implementation and benefits for GPs and patients, and Professor Geoff Hall, Director of the MRC Medical Bioinformatics Centre within the Leeds Institute of Data Analytics (LIDA) and Chief Clinical Information Officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT).