Research and development into new technologies that will improve healthcare at GP surgeries and other primary care settings has been given a boost with £25m of funding.
A total of 22 projects will benefit from the funding from the Technology Strategy Board and British companies involved in the research.
The aim is to improve healthcare provision by bringing medical diagnosis, condition monitoring and care and analytical capabilities closer to patients.
The innovative ideas which could now become reality include miniature wireless handheld sensors which quickly detect the flu virus, a portable system for the diagnosis of infectious diseases in GP surgeries, and a point-of-care test for the rapid genetic diagnosis of haematological cancer.
Ian Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said: “Through this support, the Technology Strategy Board is helping to bring together the UK’s world class expertise to research and develop innovative technologies in a key area for the UK.
“Bringing healthcare closer to the community, from hospitals to GPs’ surgeries and sometimes even into the home, can be both cost effective and of enormous benefit to patients,” he added. “Developing technologies to enable this to happen is a major challenge, but one which UK companies are clearly well able to meet.”
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