Funding boost for national mental health technology centre
A further five years of developing ground-breaking technology applications to help with people’s mental health and wellbeing are guaranteed following a national funding announcement.
The MindTech Healthcare Technology Co-operative (HTC), based at the Institute of Mental Health in Nottingham, which is a partnership between the Trust and the University of Nottingham, has been awarded £1.3 million by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to continue its cutting edge work for the next 5 years.
MindTech is a national centre focused on the development, adoption and evaluation of new technologies for mental healthcare and dementia. It was established in 2013 and brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, industry and the public.
Research and development to date has focused on uses of technology in the areas of mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety), neurodevelopmental disorders (such as Tourette Syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), and dementia.
MindTech has played a critical role in the development of a number of key technology applications for mental health. These include QbTest, a medical device that has been shown to improve the time to diagnosis for children with ADHD and ProReal Avatar technology, which is being used to help treat children with psychological distress and adults with personality disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder.
MindTech was originally set up as one of eight HTCs nationwide. The new centre will be known as ‘NIHR Mental Health MedTech Co-operative’ or shortened version ‘NIHR MindTech MedTech Co-operative’ and will be funded from 2018 to 2023.
Director of MindTech and Honorary Consultant at the Trust, Professor Chris Hollis, said: “We are delighted to receive a further five years of funding which endorses the success of MindTech and will allow us to accelerate the development, evaluation and NHS adoption of new digital technologies that will help transform the delivery of mental healthcare.”
Partner organisations involved in MindTech are University College London, The Mental Health Foundation, The University of Manchester, NIHR London MIC and the Nottingham, Oxford Health and Maudsley NIHR Biomedical Research Centres.
Dr Louise Wood, Director of Science, Research and Evidence at the Department of Health said: “The funding received by the 11 NIHR Medtech and In vitro diagnostic Co-operatives will make a real difference to patient’s lives and provide a focal point for the medtech and in vitro diagnostic industries to develop new technologies and generate the evidence needed by the NHS to support the uptake of new tests.”
