Funded by a £1 million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant, the MedTech NAVIGATOR aims to support innovation in the East of England over a three-year period by encouraging collaboration and knowledge transfer between industry and NHS experts in the region.
Expert clinical opinion is vital to medical companies in the development process of new medical technologies, to ensure unmet needs are addressed as effectively as possible, and new products are ‘fit for purpose’ within the NHS. For many companies, particularly SMEs, it can be difficult to identify suitable clinical and research experts within the NHS quickly and efficiently.
The MedTech Connect portal is a new web-based tool designed to speed up the process of identifying key opinion leaders and research active staff within the NHS to evaluate, trial and advise on new products and services that benefit patients.
Dr Chris Warwick, Consultant and Programme Manager for the MedTech NAVIGATOR at HTE said:
“Clinicians, scientists and researchers joining the MedTech Connect portal will have the opportunity to help shape the medical innovations of the future, ensuring they are fully focussed on the needs of patients, carers and staff. Once registered on the portal, clinicians and research active staff will be able to provide direct input, early on in the product development process, working with some of the UK’s most innovative medical technology companies”.
He added: “We hope that this new web-based portal will support increased knowledge transfer in the healthcare sector and offer clinicians the opportunity to ensure that the newest and best medical treatments are made available to their patients.”
In phase one of the launch, clinical staff can register online through a quick and simple process that only takes 5 mins to complete. In phase two, companies will be able to search for key opinion leaders by clinical speciality, job role, geography, and research interests. Information will only be made available to SMEs after careful screening by the MedTech NAVIGATOR team. To find out more and register as a clinical contributor, visit our website: https://connect.medtechnavigator.co.uk/clinician.
Further information about the wider MedTech NAVIGATOR programme, including Innovation Grant funding opportunities and details on the latest unmet needs workshops are available on the programme website.
