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Ground breaking innovations in healthcare receive prestigious awards
Posted on 30/12/2008
Ground breaking innovations in healthcare receive prestigious awards
Pioneering research to advance laser eye surgery and lab-based tests to assess individual patient response to chemotherapy, allergies and parasites were recognised last night at the 2008 Da Vinci Health Technology Awards.
Organised by the Da Vinci Health Technology Innovation Network, the national awards recognise scientists, engineers and clinicians working together to save lives and improve patient care. Three awards of £15,000 were made to accelerate the potential of three innovative partnerships developed in the East Midlands.
The Clinical Impact Award recognises a technique, developed at Loughborough University to test the structural integrity of RNLI lifeboats, that has been applied for the first time to measure the strain on the human cornea. John Marshall, the founder of laser refractive eye surgery, and ophthalmic surgeon Nathaniel Knox-Cartwright worked with John Tyrer, founder of Loughborough spin-out Laser Optical Engineering Ltd, to develop the technique to enable advance screening of patients at risk of post-operative complications. The technology also enables the refinement of lasers for eye surgery, paving the way for personalised treatment. The research has global potential as it will also allow mass screening for glaucoma.
The Breakthrough Technology Award recognises the first ever array based in-vitro test to report which specific allergens will trigger allergic reactions in individual patients. University of Nottingham scientists Marcos Alcocer and Franco Falcone have developed a technique to test up to 5,000 food or inhalant allergens and diagnose parasitic infections. They have also worked with respiratory experts at the City Hospital, Nottingham, to develop the research’s exciting potential in relation to asthma. The Breakthrough Award was made in memory of Peter Smith, Da Vinci Network founder and Professor of Photonics Engineering at Loughborough.
The Newcomer Award was presented to Aref Zayed, an analytical chemistry PhD student at Loughborough University, for a fast and simple blood test to assess how individual patients will respond to platinum-based chemotherapy, before and during treatment. The potential benefits to patients for improving chemotherapy effectiveness and reducing side effects are huge. The test has been successfully demonstrated in the laboratory and a clinical trial has just begun at Leicester Royal Infirmary. Aref’s co-researchers are Barry Sharp and Helen Reid from the Centre for Analytical Science at Loughborough University and Don Jones and Anne Thomas from the University of Leicester and Leicester Royal Infirmary.
Anna Seddon, Manager of the Da Vinci Network, said: “The excellent response to the Da Vinci Awards reinforces the importance of building interdisciplinary and inter-institutional collaboration to address critical issues in healthcare.” She continued, “The quality of applicants reflects the wealth of activity in healthcare innovation developed here in the East Midlands.”
The awards ceremony was held at Loughborough University on Tuesday 25 November. Guests included senior figures from the East Midlands’ clinical, research and health care industry communities.