The university-led HeartTech Hub brings together six research centers and more than 35 industry collaborators, with partners contributing a further £10 million in cash and in-kind support
Members of the EPSRC HeartTech Hub, led by King’s College London with £10.8 million in EPSRC funding. Image credit: King’s College London
King’s College London has been awarded £10.8 million by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to develop AI, wearable and imaging technologies for detecting, monitoring and preventing cardiovascular disease.
The EPSRC HeartTech Hub will investigate how information from wearable devices, medical imaging, health records and community measurements can be combined to identify people at risk and support earlier intervention.
Partner organizations are contributing an additional £10 million in cash and in-kind support. HeartTech is one of five new national hubs developing technologies intended to help people stay healthier for longer.
Professor Sebastien Ourselin, Head of the School of Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences and Assistant Principal (Innovation) at King’s, will lead the hub.
Ourselin says: “As a society, we have talked about shifting towards prevention for many years, but making that change at scale has been challenging because it requires technologies that can be used effectively in community settings, not just hospitals.”
Wearables, imaging and an AI wellbeing coach
The research will explore ways to assess cardiovascular risk and support people before disease develops or progresses, using data collected across clinical and community settings.
New imaging and computer modeling techniques will form part of that work. The team aims to make diagnosis quicker and more accessible beyond specialist centers.
Another proposed development is an AI-powered wellbeing coach. It could provide personalized guidance on lifestyle choices and prompt users when medical advice or further assessment may be needed.
Health data and personalized risk models will also inform tools intended to help people monitor and manage their heart health at home and in their communities.
Writing on LinkedIn, Ourselin added: “From AI-enabled health and wellbeing support, intelligent imaging systems to emerging advances in robotics and autonomous technologies, we have an opportunity to develop innovations that can reach people in their communities and before hospital intervention is required.”
University research connects with NHS and industry partners
The collaboration includes six British Heart Foundation Centres of Research Excellence: Edinburgh, Leicester, Manchester, Oxford, UCL and King’s.
Three National Health Service (NHS) trusts are involved through King’s Health Partners. Other participants include the Oxford Community Diagnostic Centre, Health Data for London, primary care organizations, local authorities, and patient and community partners.
The network brings university research together with organizations involved in delivering care, developing technologies and supporting people in their communities.
King’s identifies reliance on hospital-based services, specialist staff and expensive equipment as barriers to access in some parts of the country. The hub’s research is intended to support the NHS and UK Government’s 10-Year Health Plan by developing technologies that can be used outside those specialist settings.
EPSRC, which is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), awarded the grant to establish the hub.
Patients and members of the public will be involved throughout the research to help ensure the technologies are inclusive and designed around people’s needs.
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