Title: NIHR Brain Injury MedTech Co-operative
Funder: Department of Health and Social Care

Abstract: Brain injury including traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects people of all ages leading to great suffering to victims and relatives at huge costs to the NHS and society. Families may be left without a breadwinner and marriages put under enormous strain. Many people are in prison because a childhood TBI, many of which are preventable, has left them unable to control their behaviour. Brain injury increases the risk of developing Alzheimer s disease. One third of patients with mild TBI may suffer from lifelong disabling complaints. TBI represents a global burden of direct and indirect cost that exceeds $400 billion (0.5% of global gross product). 10% of all babies in the UK spend time in special care neonatal units but their Increased survival may be preceded by lack of oxygen supply to the brain leading to long-term neurological sequelae including learning difficulties, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Now is the time to exploit recent advances in technologies that impact on brain injury from prevention through acute management and rehabilitation to reintegration into the community. Also to build a platform to support future innovations and train the next generation of innovators. The MIC based in Cambridge, which is the heart of one of the world s largest technology clusters, seeks to continue the work of the existing Brain Injury HTC as a Centre of Expertise in the development of medical technologies to support the prevention of, or improved patient outcomes from, an Acquired Brain Injury. The MIC will be inclusive of the whole of the UK and work with patients and public, NHS organisations and universities, including other MICs, research councils, charities, industry, including SMEs and start-ups to provide a structured and systematic approach to find areas of unmet need throughout the brain injury pathway that might be amenable to a technology-based innovation, ? facilitate the generation of innovative solutions through communication and collaboration between the NHS, academia, industry and public organisations, and ? foster the translation of viable solutions from initial concept to successful market adoption and sustainable clinical impact.? The MIC has expertise in eleven clinical theme area (Prevention and Pre-Hospital Care, Neurocritical Care, Multi-Modality Monitoring, Intracranial Dynamics and Shunt Technology, Functional Neuroimaging/Neurophysiology, Neuro-oncology, Paediatrics and Neuro Development, Regenerative Neuroscience, Neurorehabilitation, Cognition and Mental Health and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation) and four core support activities (Patient and Public Involvement, MedTech Regulation and Evaluation, Clinical Informatics and Registries, and Health Economics and Eco-system Modelling). The MIC will engage nationally through annual seedcorn funding competitions and mentoring of young innovators. Through these activities, the wider aims of the MIC with respect to the development of new medical devices, healthcare technologies and technically dependent interventions in brain injury are to (i) provide a focus to catalyse NHS pull into practice both nationally and internationally, (ii) build UK capacity for developing and testing new concepts, and?(iii) act as an international knowledge centre and advocate for the identification and development of new solutions.

Lay abstract: Brain injury including traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects people of all ages leading to great suffering to victims and relatives at huge costs to the NHS and society. Families may be left without a breadwinner and marriages put under enormous strain. Many people are in prison because a childhood TBI, many of which are preventable, has left them unable to control their behaviour. Brain injury increases the risk of developing Alzheimer s disease. One third of patients with mild TBI may suffer from lifelong disabling complaints. TBI represents a global burden of direct and indirect cost that exceeds $400 billion (0.5% of global gross product). 10% of all babies in the UK spend time in special care neonatal units but their Increased survival may be preceded by lack of oxygen supply to the brain leading to long-term neurological sequelae including learning difficulties, cerebral palsy and epilepsy. Now is the time to exploit recent advances in technologies that impact on brain injury from prevention through acute management and rehabilitation to reintegration into the community. Also to build a platform to support future innovations and train the next generation of innovators. The MIC based in Cambridge, which is the heart of one of the world s largest technology clusters, seeks to continue the work of the existing Brain Injury HTC as a Centre of Expertise in the development of medical technologies to support the prevention of, or improved patient outcomes from, an Acquired Brain Injury. The MIC will be inclusive of the whole of the UK and work with patients and public, NHS organisations and universities, including other MICs, research councils, charities, industry, including SMEs and start-ups to provide a structured and systematic approach to find areas of unmet need throughout the brain injury pathway that might be amenable to a technology-based innovation, ? facilitate the generation of innovative solutions through communication and collaboration between the NHS, academia, industry and public organisations, and ? foster the translation of viable solutions from initial concept to successful market adoption and sustainable clinical impact.? The MIC has expertise in eleven clinical theme area (Prevention and Pre-Hospital Care, Neurocritical Care, Multi-Modality Monitoring, Intracranial Dynamics and Shunt Technology, Functional Neuroimaging/Neurophysiology, Neuro-oncology, Paediatrics and Neuro Development, Regenerative Neuroscience, Neurorehabilitation, Cognition and Mental Health and Neuropsychological Rehabilitation) and four core support activities (Patient and Public Involvement, MedTech Regulation and Evaluation, Clinical Informatics and Registries, and Health Economics and Eco-system Modelling). The MIC will engage nationally through annual seedcorn funding competitions and mentoring of young innovators. Through these activities, the wider aims of the MIC with respect to the development of new medical devices, healthcare technologies and technically dependent interventions in brain injury are to (i) provide a focus to catalyse NHS pull into practice both nationally and internationally, (ii) build UK capacity for developing and testing new concepts, and?(iii) act as an international knowledge centre and advocate for the identification and development of new solutions.

Research activity codes: 6.9 RESOURCES AND INFRASTRUCTURE (TREATMENT EVALUATION)
Health categories: NEUROLOGICAL