Healthcare technology firm secures innovation funding

A Warwickshire business is to benefit from a share in a £9m Government funding scheme to support innovative digital technology projects that are addressing healthcare challenges.

Rugby-based OpusVL has developed an electronic observation (eObs) solution, which allows clinicians to observe patients digitally through hand-held devices.

The device can then send an automatic alert to specialists or consultants if patients are identified as “at risk”. This can shorten length of stay, reduce transfers within hospitals, and reduce ICU referrals.

The £790,000 funding is the largest Innovate UK research and development grant awarded to an Open Source project.

This funding from the Digital Health Technology Catalyst will go towards proof of concept, through to creation and testing of an app that can also calculate early warning scores, a key predictor of sepsis which claims the lives of an estimated 46,000 people per year.

Science and Innovation Minister Chris Skidmore said: “From using AI-driven voice technology to assess patient’s health before seeing a doctor, to hand-held devices which observe health status and alert clinicians to treat high-risk patients, we are taking steps to ensure people are healthier for longer while saving the NHS money.

“These advances in technology, across the UK, demonstrate our modern Industrial Strategy in action by harnessing the power of innovation to help meet the needs of an ageing society, and creating the high skilled jobs of the future.”