Category: News

Enterprise Ireland Health Innovation Hub Ireland Clinical Innovation Award 2023 Winners Announced  

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On 21st November 2023, Dr. Conor Judge, Dr. Claire Stenson, and Dr. Declan Sheppard were announced as winners of the Enterprise Ireland Health Innovation Hub Ireland Clinical Innovation Awards 2023. The HIHI Clinical Innovation Award is designed to support all healthcare professionals in Ireland to explore the commercial feasibility of their innovative ideas with the potential to transform the way medical care is delivered in Ireland and abroad. The Award welcomes innovative technologies at all stages of development from concept, early stage research through to more advanced projects.

Congratulations to this year’s winners

The Clinical Innovation Awards serve as a testament to Ireland’s commitment to fostering cutting-edge solutions in healthcare, driving progress, and shaping the future of medical care. As these award-winning innovations progress, they hold the potential to redefine standards and positively impact patients’ lives both nationally and internationally.

Dr. Conor Judge: AI Revolutionizing Hypertension Management

Dr. Conor Judge,  is a Consultant Nephrologist, Electronic and Computer Engineer, PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Senior Lecturer in Applied Clinical Data Analytics at the University of Galway. His primary focus is applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions to enhance patient care, particularly in the realm of chronic conditions like hypertension. He leads the development of an AI Clinical Decision Support System (AI-CDSS) for Hypertension management at the College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway. This project uses data from randomised controlled trials to predict complex treatment decisions for persons with hypertension and is a testament to his commitment to pushing the boundaries of what is possible with AI in healthcare.

The AI-BP system, a sophisticated platform utilizing state-of-the-art machine learning and deep learning approaches, aims to provide real-time, personalized treatment decisions based on clinical trial data. Dr. Judge’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of AI in healthcare has garnered him recognition, including prestigious awards and research funding. His innovation holds promise for comprehensive, personalized hypertension management for diverse patient populations.

Dr. Claire Stenson: Smart Pleuro – A Revolutionary Solution for Malignant Pleural Effusions

Dr. Claire Stenson is a surgical trainee in Upper Gastro Intestinal (GI) surgery at Tallaght University Hospital. Dr Stenson’s solution the Smart Pleuro device, is a groundbreaking solution for treating patients with malignant pleural effusion. Current solutions often fail, requiring repeat hospitalizations and negatively impacting patients’ quality of life. Smart Pleuro, aims to treat and prevent the recurrence of malignant pleural effusions, offering a more effective alternative, aiming to significantly improve patient outcomes.

Dr. Stenson’s innovation addresses a critical need in patient care, providing a promising solution that could reduce hospitalizations, re-interventions, and enhance the overall quality of life for those affected by malignant pleural effusions.

Dr. Declan Sheppard: Portable Ultrasound Device Enhancing Venous Access

Dr. Declan Sheppard, Consultant Radiologist and Clinical Director of Radiology at University Hospital Galway, aims to develop a novel ultrasound device designed to improve venous access. Recognizing the challenges in obtaining access to veins and the associated complications, Dr. Sheppard’s solution offers a more portable and accessible alternative to the current state-of-the-art devices.

This innovative ultrasound device aims to assist clinicians in gaining access to challenging veins, reducing delays in blood sampling, diagnosis, and treatment. Dr. Sheppard’s forward-thinking approach aligns with the pursuit of adopting the latest technologies to enhance clinical care and efficiency within the healthcare system.

 

 

Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) announce new clinical innovation partnership aimed at improving patient care

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Check out coverage of the new clinical partnership in the Irish Medical Times.

New partnership aims to drive innovation in healthcare  

Read HIHI’s recent press release announcing the new clinical innovation partnership.

Media Release

Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) announce new clinical innovation partnership aimed at improving patient care

Tuesday, 7th November, 2023.  Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH) have today announced a new partnership to facilitate innovation in healthcare in Ireland and improve patient care.

The HIHI national team located in Cork, Dublin and Galway and the Mater  Hospital will work together to deliver key programmes and activities to support the healthcare innovation ecosystem in Ireland. Projects will include working with clinical innovators at the hospital to create viable products and to develop pre-commercial prototypes and market ready products.

Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) was established by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Department of Health, supported by Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) to drive collaboration between the health service and enterprise and is headquartered in University College Cork (UCC).

The HIHI partnership facilitates access to the healthcare system through academic partners in its host institutions nationally in University College Cork (UCC), Munster Technological University (MTU), University of Galway (NUIG), Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the academic institution’s respective hospital groups namely the South/South West Hospital Group, the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group and the Saolta Healthcare Group. HIHI is delighted to welcome the Mater to this innovative network and marks the expansion of HIHI’s clinical and academic sites in Ireland.

Working with enterprise, HIHI supports the development of new healthcare technologies, products, and services through its healthcare innovation pathway. It facilitates access to hospitals, primary care centres, community and other healthcare settings, for pilot and validation studies. HIHI’s remit is crucial for Irish companies as it provides an in-depth knowledge of healthcare requirements and processes and provides access to Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs) in healthcare.

Working with healthcare, HIHI works directly with healthcare professionals and those active in health provision nationally. HIHI supports the development of ideas from clinicians on the frontline into products and services through idea assessment and provides support with funding options, mentoring, as well as providing access to academic research expertise to develop solutions to everyday problems.

The experience HIHI brings to this new partnership matches the innovative strides of the team at the Mater Hospital. In 2018, MMUH established the Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare offering a unique, flexible, interdisciplinary educational space for education, clinical research and healthcare innovation. The Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare exemplifies the vision of MMUH to be a leader in innovation of specialist services and healthcare transformation with a strong academic and research agenda.

In a recent development to continue the innovation journey at MMUH, an allocated space was designated within the Pillar Centre as a site for a proposed Medtech Incubator Hub. The partnership will also co-fund an appointment to lead the unit. To date a number of potentially viable commercial ideas have been developed by Mater staff through Medtech Innovation Sprints. The Pillar Centre is also committed to developing specialist postgraduate education in the medtech / device innovation space. The interaction with commercial and corporate entities around device design and medtech development has also progressed such that a number of companies are collaborating with Mater Innovators in areas such as Oncology, Breast Cancer and Spinal surgery.

The Med Tech Incubator Site at the Pillar Centre will ensure the continued growth of the Mater Hospital’s innovation programme and will act as a hub for ‘spin in companies’ and innovators to work together on innovation projects.  The partnership with HIHI will facilitate the launch of this pioneering  Medtech Incubator Hub in the MMUH and will increase its profile in Healthcare Medtech Innovation as well as spearheading a best practice model of design-     led clinical innovation within the hospital. This will facilitate clear pathways for triage, development and commercialisation of these innovations- which is also the goal of the Health Innovation Hub, nationally.

Prof Brendan Kinsley, Clinical Director at the Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare, welcomed the partnership: “This is an exciting development for the Mater Hospital and the Pillar Centre.  We see the value that innovation brings to patient care and the support of HIHI is crucial as we develop the Med Tech Incubator Hub at the Pillar Centre. The co-funding of a full-time position to drive our collaboration will allow us to continuously strive to bring the best in innovation to a hospital setting.”

Echoing the value of the agreement, CEO of the Mater Hospital, Alan Sharp said: “I warmly welcome this collaboration between HIHI and the Mater Hospital’s Pillar Centre.  Attracting companies and innovators to work together to solve some of the healthcare challenges we face on the busiest adult hospital campus in the country can only result in better research, education and innovation – which ultimately can improve patient care and outcomes. This is a win-win situation.”

Prof. John R. Higgins HIHI Principal Investigator and CEO South/South West Hospital Group, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University College Cork, welcomed the Mater as a new clinical partner site. “I’m delighted to welcome the Mater as our newest clinical partner to Health Innovation Hub Ireland. The innovation ethos and agenda of the Mater align closely with the goals of HIHI. We have already worked collaboratively with the Mater team on a number of projects, and I’ve no doubt that this partnership will deliver some impactful outcomes for patients and healthcare”.

 Ends

Notes to the Editor:

For more information or to arrange interviews:

Health Innovation Hub Ireland contact – Caroline McGarry

M: +353 87 2266062  E: Caroline.mcgarry@ucc.ie

Mater Hospital     contact –  Deirdre Grant Managing Director Red Flag, Ireland 

M: +353 860484279 E: deirdre.grant@redflag.global

 

Image

Pictured at the signing of the MOU agreement between Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) and the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH).

Left to right Dr. Seamus Morris, Consultant Orthopaedic Spine Surgeon & Director of Innovation at the Pillar Centre for Transformative Medicine in the Mater Hospital; Prof John R. Higgins, HIHI Principal Investigator, CEO South/South West Hospital Group and UCC Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology; Erin Daly Operations Manager, the Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare, ERIL (Eccles Research Innovation Ltd.) & DERI ( Directorate for Education, Research and Innovation); Dr Tanya Mulcahy, Director Health Innovation Hub Ireland; Prof. Brendan Kinsley, Clinical Director of the Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare & DERI; Dr Steven Griffin, Manager Health Innovation Hub Ireland Galway.

 

About Health Innovation Hub Ireland

Health Innovation Hub Ireland (HIHI) drives collaboration between the health service and enterprise. We offer companies the opportunity to pilot and/or participate in clinical evaluation studies to prove their products. We provide the health service access to innovative products, services and devices that they may not otherwise be exposed to. HIHI is built on the recognition that collaboration with enterprise can benefit patient care, patient pathways and outcomes. We assess all concepts for healthcare innovation from those on the frontline. We encourage healthcare professionals to get in touch with HIHI if they have an idea or solution to how something in your job might work better. HIHI was established by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Health and is supported by Enterprise Ireland (EI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE).

About The Pillar Centre

The Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare was established in 2018 to develop Education, Research and Innovation at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital (MMUH). This unique Centre and team aspire to enhance the Education, Research and Innovation capability of MMUH as outlined in Doing what Matters, the MMUH Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and Leading innovation to transform patient care, the MMUH Strategic Plan 2022-2025. Through Partnerships, Innovation, Learning, Leadership, Academia and Research, the Pillar Centre for Transformative Healthcare strives to be a leader in Education, Research and Innovation with a particular emphasis on developing the potential of co-location on a hospital campus.

About The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital

The Mater Misericordiae University Hospital is a level four teaching hospital based in Dublin’s north inner city. The hospital was opened in 1861 by the Sisters of Mercy. In addition to the local services for our catchment area, the Mater Hospital provides a range of frontline and specialist services on a regional and national level.

 

Our vision is to build on excellence and enhance our role as an international leader in the provision of complex care and specialist services with a strong academic and translational research agenda, empowering our people to deliver excellence in care to our patients while shaping the medicine of tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIHI features in an Evening Echo feature on the National Menopause Summit

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Great article in the Evening Echo on the National Menopause Summit . HiHI’s Director Dr Tanya Mulcahy and founder of Femtech@HIHI spoke about the Femtech Revolution, delivering innovation in menopause. She joined an impressive line of speakers and a packed audience at the summit.

Read the full article here and a run down of the topics covered at the masterclass on menopause.

https://www.echolive.ie/wow/arid-41253544.html

 

HIHI’s first issue of “Femtech in Focus”, Evolution and Revolution in women’s health is out now

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HIHI is today delighted to announce the first issue of our newsletter “Femtech in Focus”. Read the full edition here https://hih.ie/downloads/femtech-newsletter.pdf

In this issue we focus on one of our female founders Marian Kennedy of PPR Healthcare who has just launched her first product from the #anewmum range on the market.

The Research Focus in this edition highlights the work of Prof. John Cryan, VP for Research & Innovation at UCC and Principal Investigator at APC Microbiome Ireland.

The Industry Focus centres on Cormac O’ Sullivan, Vice President IC and R&D at Movano Health who talks about developing their ready for market #EvieRing which is a wearable device to track biometric data empowering the wearer to manage their own health.

HIHI’s Femtech Innovation Call competition 2023 is also featured. This innovation competition is open to you if you are: a company, pre- start-up or researcher based in Ireland or you have a product that is market-ready or, in development that has the potential to significantly impact women’s healthcare in Ireland and internationally.

The competition is now open and the closing date is 17th November
To enter apply now HIHI Femtech Call 2023 – Health Innovation Hub Ireland

HIHI supports Ireland’s first clinically designed digital platform for menopause

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Menopause and the City, one of the four selected Smart D8 pilot projects, held an event at The Digital Hub on Monday 16th of October ahead of World Menopause Day, to share information on menopause and support networks available in the local Dublin 8 area. HIHI is a proud partner of Smart D8 and a champion for InfoMD menopause within the group. (https://informd.ie/menopause)

Founded and driven by Dr Louise Fitzgerald, Menopause and the City is a sub-project of inforMD Menopause, an initiative that is focused on improving menopause health and wellbeing in Dublin 8 and beyond. It will be the first national platform wholly dedicated to providing women with information on menopause and resources where they can access support.

The Menopause and the City pilot project aims to educate women, their family and friends about menopause so they can be empowered to manage their symptoms using self-management strategies but equally know when to seek professional help appropriately. The pilot will provide several free in-person workshops delivered to the community and a free online platform.

The first of those information workshops featured a number of leading expert speakers in healthcare and menopause, including Dr Ciara McKenna and Dr. Aoife Nic Shamhráin, leading Menopause Specialists with Menopause Health, Clare Farrell, Women’s Health Physiotherapist at The Coombe Hospital and Family Physio, and Orna O’Brien, Senior Dietician at the Irish Heart Foundation.

Dr Louise Fitzgerald, the founder of inforMD Menopause, has extensive experience in healthcare and identified the challenges facing women experiencing menopause in accessing treatment and support. With a background in medical practice, Dr Louise runs a successful menopause clinic in Dublin City Centre where she provides equal access, treatment and support for women experiencing menopause.

Speaking ahead of the launch of the pilot project, Dr Louise Fitzgerald, Founder of inforMD Menopause and Menopause and the City, stated:

“Menopause has become an increasingly important conversation in modern society however many women remain unaware of treatment and support networks in their local communities. The impact of hormonal changes on the lead up to menopause can be turbulent, confusing and stressful. It is quite shocking to hear that 82% of women are in some way affected in their work performance by menopause symptoms[1]. While some women require medical intervention for their symptoms, many women only require lifestyle advice, which should be available to all women. It’s important that we raise awareness of menopause symptoms, supports and resources for communities, and I hope that inforMD Menopause does just that. I’m delighted to launch inforMD Menopause and Menopause and the City ahead of World Menopause Day and I’m very grateful for the support from Smart D8 on this important project.”

 

HIHI launches latest Clinical Evaluation Study with DigiAcademy

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This October Health Innovation Hub Ireland is spotlighting our latest Clinical Evaluation Study with DigiAcademy. DigiAcademy is an accessible digital education platform co-designed with people with accessibility needs to ensure universal inclusivity.

It was originally conceived by Esther Murphy, PhD a Trinity College Dublin Principal Investigator at School of Engineering/ADAPT Center. DigiAcademy is funded by an Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Feasibility Fund and EIT HEALTH UK-IRELAND. Recently the company celebrated a European Digital Skills Award in Inclusion in the Digital World!

DigiAcademy is an online e-learning platform that provides bite size video tutorials for digital literacy training for individuals living with intellectual disabilities. This platform has been codesigned with individuals with accessibility needs further adopting its message of inclusion. As society moves towards more digital services, a platform that provides tailored learning for those with intellectual disabilities is needed for a more inclusive society.

HIHI’s role was to facilitate two separate expert clinical assessments of the DigiAcademy platform for product application and market value. Five clinicians were involved, these included occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and clinicians working in HSE procurement. This allowed comprehensive feedback to be gathered for DigiAcademy. Overall, all those involved in the clinical feedback sessions were impressed with the DigiAcademy platform and the clinicians praised the design and highlighted that it could be used in a complimentary format to existing services.

Read the full Clinical Evaluation Study here https://hih.ie/downloads/case-studies/HIHI-case-study_DigiAcademy.pdf

HIHI Director Dr Tanya Mulcahy will be the keynote speaker at the Network Ireland Cork event “The FemTech Revolution – why innovation in women’s health is good for business.”

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HIHI Director Dr Tanya Mulcahy will be the keynote speaker at the first Femtech event at Network Ireland Cork entitled: “The FemTech Revolution – why innovation in women’s health is good for business.” This event will further ignite the Femtech Ireland revolution. The event is calling for all change-makers, innovators, and advocates for women’s health to attend!

What is Femtech Ireland? It is the first FemTech ecosystem aimed at innovation in the area of women’s health in Ireland. It’s goal is to assist and drive the conversation around unmet needs in women’s health, to support the development of new products and services to address those needs, and to ensure that Ireland’s innovators in women’s health are part of the rapidly growing global FemTech movement.

Speaking in advance of the event Dr. Mulcahy said “there is so much happening in the area of women’s health and so many opportunities in education, new product development, service provision and support for women in business”. She will joined for the workshop by fellow team Femtech warriors Caitriona Heffernan, Dr. Michael Twomey and Jane O’ Flynn.

The event will take place on
Wednesday October 4th, 7 to 9pm
Venue: Dining Hall in the Tourism and Hospitality department
MTU Bishopstown, Cork

Register here today Network Ireland

HIHI Director and FemTech founder Dr Tanya Mulcahy features on the Smarter Health Show with Ivan Yates and Siobhan Breathnach

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HIHI Director and Femtech Founder, Dr Tanya Mulcahy features on The Smarter Health Show podcast with Ivan Yates. The episode is entitled Healthcare in Ireland – What women want. Tanya talks about all things FemTech and the future of womens health in Ireland. She joins the panel conversation with Katie Fay, Operations Team Lead with Randox a healthcare diagnostics company in the UK and Ireland that supports preventative healthcare.

Heidi Davis CEO and founder of IdentifyHer talks to Siobhan on the Business of Health about menopause and common misconceptions and what needs to be changed.

Listen here to the podcast.

 

HIHI Director Dr.Tanya Mulcahy joins the speaker line up at the upcoming National Menopause Summit

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Health Innovation Hub Ireland is delighted to be one of the summit partners of the National Menopause Summit, Advocating for Change, which will take place at Cork City Hall on Friday, October 20th, 2023. HIHI Director Dr. Tanya Mulcahy will speak about Ireland’s first Femtech ecosystem which was launched by HIHI in 2022 and will introduce three groundbreaking Irish FemTech Innovators developing solutions for menopause like Aveta Medical, IdentifyHer and Siobhain O’ Mahony.
 
To join the Femtech @ HIHI network and become part of the FemTech ecosystem sign up today https://hih.ie/engage/femtech/

The guest speaker at this groundbreaking menopause summit will be Mariella Frostrup – Journalist, Broadcaster, Campaigner, author of Cracking The Menopause & Trustee of the Great Initiative. The event will be compèred by Grainne Seoige one of Ireland’s leading presenters and journalists.

Tanya will join an impressive line up of speakers comprising of leading clinicians, health care practitioners, legal & HR professionals and business and union leaders. Ireland’s leading experts and advocates in the area of perimenopause and menopause will take part in this full day’s masterclass which coincides with the week of World Menopause Day, held annually on 18th October.

For the full agenda and speaker line up log onto https://nationalmenopausesummit.com/