Seeking innovators at London Tech Week
Asthma UK was at London Tech Week this month to launch a brand new initiative which has got a lot of people very excited. We’re aiming to harness the brightest minds in health tech innovation to prevent asthma attacks and improve the lives of people with asthma.
In recent years we’ve seen massive growth in the amount of health tech being developed – apps which allow you to consult your GP by video, artificial intelligence which claims to diagnose as well as the real-life doctors, and wearable tech which gathers data and spots trends about our health and wellbeing. Isn’t it time we got the innovators, engineers and bright sparks behind these kinds of developments working for people with asthma?
That’s why we’ve partnered with two other well-respected funders (the National Institute for Health Research, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) to launch a £3 million+ asthma digital health fund. Groups of innovators will soon be able to apply for funding to support their bright ideas from the early concept stage right through to scaling in the NHS.
‘There’s a massive opportunity to improve people’s lives’
We think there’s a massive opportunity to improve people’s lives – there are more than 5 million people with asthma in the UK, and we know a good proportion of them are already open to digital tools that help them manage their condition.
But we know that many of the tech solutions developed so far haven’t gone far enough to meet people’s needs, or understand the kind of tech that people with asthma want and will actually use. It’s a complex condition, and a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.
So we organised an event at London Tech Week to bring together a mix of researchers, tech entrepreneurs, small businesses, clinicians and funders. We’re interested in hearing from talented, multi-disciplinary teams – not necessarily those already working in respiratory health – who can bring a fresh perspective.
We’re optimistic about the possibilities, and we can’t wait to see what applications come in.
To find out more, register an interest, email innovation@auk-blf.org.uk.
Imagine a world with no asthma helpline, no research and where asthma has no voice.
As a charity, Asthma UK provides free health advice to millions, we fight for the rights of people with asthma in the corridors of power and we fund ground-breaking research.
COVID-19 has devastated our ability to raise vital funds, so if you've benefited from our free health advice, think asthma needs a voice or believe in asthma research, we need your support now more than ever.
To show how much you care about people with asthma, if you can please make a small donation today. Your support now will be an investment for improving the future for everyone with asthma in the UK.
