Title: NIHR Mental Health MedTech Co-operative (short name: NIHR MindTech MedTech Co-operative)
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: The MindTech MIC builds on the highly successful MindTech HTC (Healthcare Technology Co-operative) and the strong partnership between Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Nottingham. We aim to provide national leadership in harnessing the power of digital technologies and technology-dependent interventions, to transform mental healthcare delivery and improve the lives of people with mental health problems. Mental health conditions are the largest cause of disability in the UK, affecting 1 in 4 people at some time in their life. Demand for care exceeds available NHS resources, and 75% of people with mental health problems do not receive treatment. Technology has great potential to improve treatment and access, exemplified by the Government s recent investment of &pound;67M in digital psychological therapy (IAPT) services. Our MIC builds on the outstanding track-record of the MindTech HTC which has secured over &pound;69M in external grant funding for MindTech and its partners, recruited over 6000 study participants and worked with over 200 companies, securing over &pound;6M in industry-led grants. The MIC has five themes: Children and young people: mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Adult mental health and mood disorders Older people and dementia Technology Evaluation & Implementation The first three themes are clinical and focus on conditions that have a high burden of illness and unmet needs. Conditions and needs vary according to age and therefore require a specialist approach, though all themes will share learning. Our Technology and Evaluation & Implementation themes will work in partnership with our clinical themes. The Technology theme includes computer scientists, engineers, clinicians and patients working together to ensure that new technologies are designed to meet user needs. The close link with the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) provides a pipeline to take promising new technologies into real-world settings for evaluation. The Evaluation and Implementation theme brings together experts in health economics, trials of digital interventions, NHS adoption and implementation science. It will ensure that evaluations are timely and appropriate and that technologies can realistically become part of NHS care. MindTech is supported by an established patient and public involvement strategy and team. We work closely with patients, clinicians and the James Lind Alliance to feed patient and clinician priorities into the development of mental healthcare technologies. Our strategy is to create a digital technology innovation pipeline in mental healthcare, supported by our core MindTech team of clinicians, service-users and academics linked to a unique national network of strategic partners that includes; the main NIHR BRCs for mental health and technology (Nottingham, Maudsley, Oxford), University of Manchester (EPSRC NewMind Network), University College London (eHealth Unit), London Diagnostics (Imperial College), the Mental Health Foundation and the Oxford Academic Health Science Network. We will build on our successful industry partnerships, facilitating clinician and service-user pull , and bringing evaluation and NHS implementation expertise to support the adoption of new technologies within the NHS. We will also continue to work closely with NICE and NHS England on national policy initiatives in digital mental healthcare.

Lay abstract: The MindTech MIC builds on the highly successful MindTech HTC (Healthcare Technology Co-operative) and the strong partnership between Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Nottingham. We aim to provide national leadership in harnessing the power of digital technologies and technology-dependent interventions, to transform mental healthcare delivery and improve the lives of people with mental health problems. Mental health conditions are the largest cause of disability in the UK, affecting 1 in 4 people at some time in their life. Demand for care exceeds available NHS resources, and 75% of people with mental health problems do not receive treatment. Technology has great potential to improve treatment and access, exemplified by the Government s recent investment of &pound;67M in digital psychological therapy (IAPT) services. Our MIC builds on the outstanding track-record of the MindTech HTC which has secured over &pound;69M in external grant funding for MindTech and its partners, recruited over 6000 study participants and worked with over 200 companies, securing over &pound;6M in industry-led grants. The MIC has five themes: Children and young people: mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) Adult mental health and mood disorders Older people and dementia Technology Evaluation & Implementation The first three themes are clinical and focus on conditions that have a high burden of illness and unmet needs. Conditions and needs vary according to age and therefore require a specialist approach, though all themes will share learning. Our Technology and Evaluation & Implementation themes will work in partnership with our clinical themes. The Technology theme includes computer scientists, engineers, clinicians and patients working together to ensure that new technologies are designed to meet user needs. The close link with the NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) provides a pipeline to take promising new technologies into real-world settings for evaluation. The Evaluation and Implementation theme brings together experts in health economics, trials of digital interventions, NHS adoption and implementation science. It will ensure that evaluations are timely and appropriate and that technologies can realistically become part of NHS care. MindTech is supported by an established patient and public involvement strategy and team. We work closely with patients, clinicians and the James Lind Alliance to feed patient and clinician priorities into the development of mental healthcare technologies. Our strategy is to create a digital technology innovation pipeline in mental healthcare, supported by our core MindTech team of clinicians, service-users and academics linked to a unique national network of strategic partners that includes; the main NIHR BRCs for mental health and technology (Nottingham, Maudsley, Oxford), University of Manchester (EPSRC NewMind Network), University College London (eHealth Unit), London Diagnostics (Imperial College), the Mental Health Foundation and the Oxford Academic Health Science Network. We will build on our successful industry partnerships, facilitating clinician and service-user pull , and bringing evaluation and NHS implementation expertise to support the adoption of new technologies within the NHS. We will also continue to work closely with NICE and NHS England on national policy initiatives in digital mental healthcare.

Research activity codes: 4.5 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (DETECTION);6.9 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (TREATMENT EVALUATION)
Health categories: MENTAL HEALTH