ERBI Medtech Awards - news of the winners

A project which has the capability to shorten patient waiting lists for CT scans used to detect life-threatening conditions such as brain tumours, has won Hope Enterprises the ERBI Medtech 2008 award for NHS Partnership, sponsored by Health Enterprise East.

The team worked closely with NHS staff to capture the data needed for specially customised prediction software. The software demonstrated that a ‘zero wait’ can be achieved and a same day service offered to patients, thereby avoiding the need for a return journey to hospital.

The award was presented to Roger Thorpe, Managing Director of Hope Enterprises by Barnaby Perks of ERBI Medtech, and award sponsor Dr Peter Blenkinsop of Health Enterprise East.

Hope Enterprises provides specialist training and consultancy and applied techniques from industry to benefit the public sector. Roger Thorpe said:

“We’re delighted to have received this award. We hope that by showing how one CT unit can be analysed and streamlined, our techniques can be rolled out across other areas of the NHS to provide an improved service for patients and make better use of resources.”

Judge Dr Blenkinsop was impressed with the approach taken: “Hope Enterprises’ solution shows how innovative ideas from one industry can have applications and benefits in another. The solution has the potential to save £2000 a day by reducing the need for mobile scanners.”
 

Cambridge Cognition, developers of a clinical diagnostic product that provides early warning of neurodegenerative conditions, has seen its revenues increase from £1.2 million to £2m in the last year, securing it the ERBI Medtech 2008 award for Export Achievement, sponsored by UK Trade and Investment

The award, which acknowledges a proactive approach to researching, accessing and succeeding in overseas markets, was presented to Dr Guy Wood-Gush, Chairman, and Ian Harris, Chief Executive, of Cambridge Cognition by Barnaby Perks of ERBI Medtech and Dave Revitt, Regional International Trade Adviser for Healthcare at East of England International, part of UKTI.

“It was as a result of a trade mission in 2002 that we got a better foothold in the US market” explains Harris. “Our research, and the valuable introductions facilitated by UKTI, gave us the insights we need to develop plans for the forthcoming launch of our clinical diagnostic product. We have other markets on our strategic radar and look forward to working with UKTI again.”

Dave Revitt was one of the judges and he comments: “We were impressed by Cambridge Cognition’s approach and their success which has resulted in their core technology ‘CANTAB’ being used by over 500 customers in 50 different countries. We hope that many other companies in the region will be inspired by their success.”
 

Prosurgics’ FreeHand is a robotic camera holder for use in keyhole surgery. Developed by Sagentia, based on Prosurgics’ patented technology, it has won the ERBI Medtech 2008 award for Innovation sponsored by Health Technologies KTN (Knowledge Transfer Network).

The robotic arm replaces the need for a human assistant to hold the endoscope enabling surgeons to view rock-steady images inside the patient’s body and control camera movement with just a tilt of their head.

The award was presented to Andy Matthews of Sagentia by Barnaby Perks of ERBI Medtech and Sue Dunkerton, Director of Health Technologies KTN.

Andy Matthews explains that FreeHand has been very well received by surgeons worldwide, because it addresses real needs in keyhole surgery: “There is currently nothing on the market that matches FreeHand in terms of simplicity and affordability.”

Judge Sue Dunkerton was impressed with FreeHand because minimally-invasive surgery is such a priority for the NHS at the moment: “With 20,000 laparoscopic operating rooms in the US and EU alone and 2.5 million procedures undertaken annually, market potential is estimated to be as much as £200 million for the unit and £250 million per annum in consumables. Prosurgics has a strong business model.”