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
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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.
