£23 million of government funding has been awarded to cutting edge health projects, including new software which enables radiologists to diagnose breast cancer more effectively and gene therapy to combat kidney disease.
The funding has been awarded under the Biomedical Catalyst (BMC) programme jointly run by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK and the Medical Research Council (MRC), both part of UK Research and Innovation.
The projects funded include a mammography breast cancer screening software that helps radiologists in the early detection of breast cancer, a 3D cavity dosimeter and image analysis software that can accurately measure the radiation delivered to the tumour, A new, pathogen-specific antibiotic to treat and prevent recurrent Clostridium difficile infection and artificial intelligence (AI) to provide a digital early-warning system for cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment toxicity.
Dr Louise Jones, head of translational research at the MRC, said: “These latest projects are further demonstration of the world-leading science coming out of the vibrant academic and industrial research base of the UK. The success of the Catalyst’s funding schemes shows the value of dedicated support in the development of therapies, diagnostics and devices that will benefit both patients and the UK economy.”
The BMC is a unique partnership between the MRC and Innovate UK, developed to support the development of innovative healthcare products, technologies and processes such as disease prevention, proactive management of health and chronic conditions and earlier and better detection and diagnosis of disease, leading to better patient outcomes
