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NIHR has awarded a total of £2.31 million to 24 projects through its Invention for Innovation (i4i) Funding At the Speed of Translation (FAST) funding opportunity.
This funding will support the development of technology-assisted workforce solutions focused on preventing a single chronic condition from progressing to multi-morbidity (the presence of two or more long-term health conditions) in community, home, and care settings. This work is in partnership with the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre Network.
The 24 funded innovations span virtual rehabilitation, AI-enabled diagnostics, home-based monitoring devices and digital self-management platforms. It also includes tools supporting frailty, dementia, cancer care, mental health, and other long-term condition management.
Multi-morbidity places a significant strain on healthcare resources and workforce capacity. Technology-assisted solutions used in home and community care settings can empower the workforce to manage patient health more proactively. This approach is expected to:
- Improve patient outcomes and quality of life
- Support people with chronic conditions to remain active and in employment
- Enhance system efficiency by reducing the need for intensive clinical interventions
Funded technologies demonstrated a clear pathway to prevent the transition to multi-morbidity, with the aim of reducing overall workforce demands while improving patient outcomes.
All projects support at least one of the government’s priority shifts for healthcare:
- Hospital to community: Technologies enabling effective chronic disease management outside acute settings, helping to reduce pressure on the workforce.
- Analogue to digital: Digital solutions that replace traditional monitoring approaches with more efficient, automated systems.
- Sickness to prevention: Early interventions that prevent single conditions from progressing to complex multi-morbidity requiring intensive workforce support.
“Projects like these showcase the ambition and potential in health technology - NIHR's funding for this research supports the government's 10 Year Health Plan, aiming to prevent ill-health, catch conditions early, and shift services out of hospitals and into the community. Health tech research like this will bring benefits for the whole of society,” said Professor Mike Lewis, NIHR Scientific Director for Innovation.
“We are delighted that the NIHR HRC Network has supported this funding opportunity. The focus on preventing progression from single chronic conditions to multi-morbidity represents a significant opportunity to reduce pressures on our health and social care workforce while improving patient outcomes. This call was driven by the NIHR HealthTech Research Centres in Long Term Conditions, Community Healthcare, and Diagnostic and Technology Evaluation, whose clinical expertise identified critical unmet needs where technology-assisted solutions can make a real difference,” said Nathaniel Mills, NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) Network chief operating officer.
Among the 24 funded projects, several illustrate the variety and potential impact of this FAST funding round:
- Resynk, a virtual-reality rehabilitation platform for stroke survivors, aims to extend therapy from hospital into the home and reduce long-term disability.
- EquiCare, an AI-powered adult social care assessment tool, could automate triage and reduce inequalities in access to support.
- LightScope, a non-contact ‘smart stethoscope’, enables early detection of heart valve disease in community pharmacy settings.
- Path Active, a wearable insole for people with diabetes, monitors pressure and temperature, the main causes of foot ulcers.
- Jam Up!, a gamified daily-living skills app for children with additional needs, helps families manage dressing, brushing teeth and periods at home.
- RapidX Bio’s novel 10-minute rapid DNA test will be trialed directly in care homes to spot urinary tract infections much earlier, helping prevent them from developing into serious illnesses.
- PuntoTest, a speech-based cognitive assessment app, could transform early dementia detection through simple spoken tasks which can be used at home or in GP settings.
- Nelli, an at-home, AI-informed, video monitoring device for adults with intellectual disabilities and epilepsy. Nelli recognises complex seizures from other behaviours to ensure users get the right kind of care and avoid unnecessary emergency and hospital interactions.
- iTalkBetter, a digital therapy app designed to treat word-finding difficulties in stroke survivors. It uses AI-guided feedback and gamified features to provide intensive, structured speech practice at home.
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