NHS Innovation Accelerator Fellows: my mhealth and Medinvent

The NHS Innovation Accelerator (NIA) is a fellowship programme delivered by AHSNs in collaboration with NHS England, UCL Partners and The Health Foundation. 

The NIA aims to create the conditions and cultural change necessary for timely adoption of innovative technology throughout the NHS, and to benefit the health of patients and the general population by delivering examples in practice. 

NIA Fellows are coached to rapidly take their innovations to more patients, with AHSNs providing access to national learning and expertise to help Fellows to spread their innovations across the country.

A rigorous, multi-stage selection process led to the appointment of 17 national Fellows in July 2015. From this cohort, two Fellows are based in the Wessex AHSN region. 

Dharmesh Kapoor, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and director of Medinvent, has patented fixed angle scissors to remove human error in estimating episiotomy angles during childbirth, reducing the risk of postpartum complications and adverse impact on maternal quality of life. Through the NIA programme, Dharmesh hopes to accelerate the adoption of his innovation, called EPISCISSORS-60, into UK clinical practice.

Also based in Hampshire, my mhealth offers online respiratory solutions myCOPD and myPR to improve prevention, diagnosis, safety and efficiency of health services. The innovations encourage patient participation in decision making, self-management and research. Clinical areas covered range from cancer, mental health, multiple sclerosis, maternity care, cardiovascular and respiratory disease, liver disease and dementia. As an NIA Fellow, the company will receive national support to roll out their technologies and processes to patients, hospitals and GP practices throughout England.

More information about the NHS Innovation Accelerator programme is available here.