The MedTech Navigator facilitated knowledge transfer between innovative Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and key public sector partners in the region. The project aimed to identify clinical or organisational areas of unmet need in healthcare and provide a platform for medical technology SMEs to respond to those needs by developing innovative new products and services.
The programme was delivered by Health Tech Enterprise over a three-year period between 2019 and 2022 and was part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The MedTech Navigator delivered a number of initiatives, themed events and in-depth analysis of key healthcare challenges. The project comprised of the following components:
- Identification of Unmet Needs
Unmet needs drive innovation. Health Tech Enterprises unique position between NHS and Industry enables us to work with national policy initiatives, as well as our extensive NHS member network. We use these networks to identify high-level gaps and opportunities for transforming care pathways through technology-enabled, innovative solutions. Through the programme we selected 8 areas of unmet need and delivered high quality events bringing together representatives from industry, NHS and academia to solve the health challenges of today.
- Market Insights and Validation
The MedTech NAVIGATOR helped SMEs to develop a clear understanding of the route to market, including customer requirements, clinical care pathways, health economic principles and procurement processes through a series of 16 white papers and free structured support. You can access all the published white papers here.
- MedTech Connect Portal
Expert clinical opinion is vital to the medical technology industry to address unmet clinical needs and to ensure new products are ‘fit for purpose’ within the NHS. Whilst recognised as being central to the product development process, medical technology companies often struggle to identify relevant stakeholders in an efficient and timely manner. The MedTech Connect portal is a web-based tool that helps identify relevant clinicians and innovative companies and facilitates collaboration between them. With over 60 clinicians representing 89 different sub-specialties, we helped SMEs to identify potential collaborators and gain the insights they needed to progress their projects.
- MedTech Innovation Grants
By providing Innovation Grants we supported 15 SMEs to engage in new Research & Innovation activities. This could have been in the form of accessing expert advice, product review or longer term collaborations and to carry out early stage proof of concept activities with those who will use the products.
For more information on the MedTech Navigator read our Case Study.
To find out more about how Health Tech Enterprise can support you please visit our Services page.
