The NIHR HRC in Diagnostic and Technology Evaluation has helped to secure £196,211 to accelerate health technology development and adoption.

We will work with six other HRCs on four projects financed by Round 2 of the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) Network Collaboration Challenge Fund (CCF). This funding will allow us to combine our methodological strengths and clinical capabilities to drive health technology innovation at a national level.

What are the aims of the projects?

The projects aim to improve patient health and care across clinical settings including General Practice (GP) surgeries and hospitals. We will:

• Develop a breath test for diagnosing bowel cancer less invasively (led by HRC in In-vitro Diagnostics)
• Examine clinical decision making around prescribing antibiotics for patients with severe respiratory infections in hospital (led by the HRC in Emergency and Acute Care)
• Explore how to ensure health and care systems are ready to implement new technologies (led by the HRC in Accelerated Surgical Care)
• Design and pilot a toolkit to enhance early-stage technologies and accelerate their use in NHS practice (led by HRC in In-vitro Diagnostics)

These projects are scheduled for completion by March 2027.

Collaborating through HRC network working groups

Our active involvement in working groups, coordinated by the HRC network, has enabled us to connect with all 14 HRCs and secure funding for these projects. These working groups are helping us to align our research methodologies and share our expertise, resources, and ideas. This includes the QUBIS (Qualitative, Human Factors, Implementation Science, Usability and Behavioural Science) working group. We will utilise our qualitative research expertise to examine how a new bowel cancer test could enhance patient care. Another example is our successful collaboration on the SyNAPSE (Synthesis and Networks Across Partners for Social care Evidence) project. This research aims to improve the use of health technology in older adult social care. It received £40,902 through Round 1 of the CCF and is led by HRC in Long-term conditions.

More about the CCF

The CCF provides targeted pump-priming grants of up to £50,000. It funds cross-HRC research projects which align with NHS priorities and help to generate investment into health technologies. Each project involves at least three HRCs. Round 3 of the CCF is due to launch in Autumn 2026.

Find out more about the Collaboration Challenge Fund

Learn about the HRC network working groups