FutureTech: Collaborative innovation Heads together for hi-tech healthcare Healthcare professionals must connect with technical experts to demystify technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and virtual reality within the NHS, says Dr Peter Bannister, Chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Healthcare Executive When it comes to the role that data-driven technologies can play in healthcare, I’m an optimist. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can initially help with operational efficiency and eventually enable preventative, personalised treatment at scale, integrating social care and mental health alongside diagnostic or interventional applications. The challenge today, however, is not purely technical. In many cases, the technological components are relatively mature, but embedding them in routine clinical practice depends on educating practitioners and patients to enable cultural change alongside redesigning pathways, meeting stringent regulatory guidelines, robustly demonstrating clinical efficacy and evidencing a clear health economic rationale. With huge constraints on resources, we need to be sure we’re trying to solve the right problems. Real impact will only be realised if clinicians are engaged early. This will allow the true clinical need to be determined and scientists and engineers to demonstrate the ‘art of the possible’, so that collaborative innovation can arise from dialogue between a diverse group of key stakeholders. The work of AHSNs contains numerous examples of this cross-sector collaboration taking place to achieve demonstrable impact in this past year; I am delighted to have spoken about AI for medical imaging at Eastern AHSN’s Future Tech Roadshows in Norwich, Basildon and Newmarket – a series of events, funded by a grant from Health Education East of England, to bring together the healthcare community with technical experts to demystify technologies such as AI, blockchain and virtual reality and make them relevant to people working in the NHS. It’s also exciting to see ambitious projects – such as Eastern AHSN’s Rare Diseases Sprint Exemplar Innovation Project, which is a pilot exemplar for cloud- based integration of phenotype and genotype data for rare disease research – forming around these multidisciplinary networks. This innovative project addresses key barriers to sharing data, such as integration of large phenotypic datasets from heterogeneous sources and the infrastructure needed to deliver this at scale and has the potential to help diagnose people with rare diseases in the UK. “Real impact will only be realised if clinician”s are engaged early AHSNs provide a trusted and practical interface between the NHS and industry which is an ambition shared by the IET to enable sectors to come together and make tangible progress. Collaboration across industries can also be very valuable and with the help of AHSNs we also help bring engineers – including those whose work currently falls outside healthcare – into contact with other healthcare professionals, in part via initiatives such as the National Innovation Accelerator and Clinical Entrepreneur programmes. We appreciate all that the AHSNs do to ensure those working in engineering can make a significant contribution to global healthcare, both today and in the future. ● Peter Bannister is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the IET. He chairs the IET Healthcare Sector executive, membership of which includes engineers (academic, commercial and NHS), clinicians, investors, policy experts and Eastern AHSN’s chief operating officer. He has a PhD in medical imaging and carried out post-doctoral research in machine learning. He has spent several years in industry helping to build companies and clinical solutions for surgery, diagnostic imaging, digital health and, currently – as Vice-President of Clinical Innovation at Mirada Medical – in radiation oncology. He is an Academy of Medical Sciences FLIER trainee, a programme that develops cross- sector leaders who can help deliver the UK life sciences strategy. Dr Peter Bannister Learn more about AI and deep learning in healthcare FutureTech: Collaborative innovation Healthcare professionals must connect with technical experts to demystify technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and virtual reality within the NHS, says Dr Peter Bannister, Chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Healthcare Executive When it comes to the role that data-driven technologies can play in healthcare, I’m an optimist. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can initially help with operational efficiency and eventually enable preventative, personalised treatment at scale, integrating social care and mental health alongside diagnostic or interventional applications. The challenge today, however, is not purely technical. In many cases, the technological components are relatively mature, but embedding them in routine clinical practice depends on educating practitioners and patients to enable cultural change alongside redesigning pathways, meeting stringent regulatory guidelines, robustly demonstrating clinical efficacy and evidencing a clear health economic rationale. With huge constraints on resources, we need to be sure we’re trying to solve the right problems. Real impact will only be realised if clinicians are engaged early. This will allow the true clinical need to be determined and scientists and engineers to demonstrate the ‘art of the possible’, so that collaborative innovation can arise from dialogue between a diverse group of key stakeholders. The work of AHSNs contains numerous examples of this cross-sector collaboration taking place to achieve demonstrable impact in this past year; I am delighted to have spoken about AI for medical imaging at Eastern AHSN’s Future Tech Roadshows in Norwich, Basildon and Newmarket – a series of events, funded by a grant from Health Education East of England, to bring together the healthcare community with technical experts to demystify technologies such as AI, blockchain and virtual reality and make them relevant to people working in the NHS. It’s also exciting to see ambitious projects – such as Eastern AHSN’s Rare Diseases Sprint Exemplar Innovation Project, which is a pilot exemplar for cloud- based integration of phenotype and genotype data for rare disease research – forming around these multidisciplinary networks. This innovative project addresses key barriers to sharing data, such as integration of large phenotypic datasets from heterogeneous sources and the infrastructure needed to deliver this at scale and has the potential to help diagnose people with rare diseases in the UK. “Real impact will only be realised if clinician”s are engaged early AHSNs provide a trusted and practical interface between the NHS and industry which is an ambition shared by the IET to enable sectors to come together and make tangible progress. Collaboration across industries can also be very valuable and with the help of AHSNs we also help bring engineers – including those whose work currently falls outside healthcare – into contact with other healthcare professionals, in part via initiatives such as the National Innovation Accelerator and Clinical Entrepreneur programmes. We appreciate all that the AHSNs do to ensure those working in engineering can make a significant contribution to global healthcare, both today and in the future. ● Peter Bannister is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the IET. He chairs the IET Healthcare Sector executive, membership of which includes engineers (academic, commercial and NHS), clinicians, investors, policy experts and Eastern AHSN’s chief operating officer. He has a PhD in medical imaging and carried out post-doctoral research in machine learning. He has spent several years in industry helping to build companies and clinical solutions for surgery, diagnostic imaging, digital health and, currently – as Vice-President of Clinical Innovation at Mirada Medical – in radiation oncology. He is an Academy of Medical Sciences FLIER trainee, a programme that develops cross- sector leaders who can help deliver the UK life sciences strategy. Dr Peter Bannister Learn more about AI and deep learning in healthcare Heads together for hi-tech healthcare FutureTech: Collaborative innovation Heads together for hi-tech healthcare Healthcare professionals must connect with technical experts to demystify technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and virtual reality within the NHS, says Dr Peter Bannister, Chair of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Healthcare Executive When it comes to the role that data-driven technologies can play in healthcare, I’m an optimist. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can initially help with operational efficiency and eventually enable preventative, personalised treatment at scale, integrating social care and mental health alongside diagnostic or interventional applications. The challenge today, however, is not purely technical. In many cases, the technological components are relatively mature, but embedding them in routine clinical practice depends on educating practitioners and patients to enable cultural change alongside redesigning pathways, meeting stringent regulatory guidelines, robustly demonstrating clinical efficacy and evidencing a clear health economic rationale. With huge constraints on resources, we need to be sure we’re trying to solve the right problems. Real impact will only be realised if clinicians are engaged early. This will allow the true clinical need to be determined and scientists and engineers to demonstrate the ‘art of the possible’, so that collaborative innovation can arise from dialogue between a diverse group of key stakeholders. The work of AHSNs contains numerous examples of this cross-sector collaboration taking place to achieve demonstrable impact in this past year; I am delighted to have spoken about AI for medical imaging at Eastern AHSN’s Future Tech Roadshows in Norwich, Basildon and Newmarket – a series of events, funded by a grant from Health Education East of England, to bring together the healthcare community with technical experts to demystify technologies such as AI, blockchain and virtual reality and make them relevant to people working in the NHS. It’s also exciting to see ambitious projects – such as Eastern AHSN’s Rare Diseases Sprint Exemplar Innovation Project, which is a pilot exemplar for cloud- “ based integration of phenotype and genotype data for rare disease research – Real impact will only be realised if clinicians are forming around these multidisciplinary networks. This innovative project addresses key barriers to sharing data, such as integration of large phenotypic datasets from” heterogeneous sources and the infrastructure needed to deliver this at scale and has the potential to help diagnose people with rare diseases in the UK. engaged early video box AHSNs provide a trusted and practical interface between the NHS and industry which is an ambition shared by the IET to enable sectors to come together and make tangible progress. Collaboration across industries can also be very valuable and with the help of AHSNs we also help bring engineers – including those whose work currently falls outside healthcare – into contact with other healthcare professionals, in part via initiatives such as the National Innovation Accelerator and Clinical Entrepreneur programmes. We appreciate all that the AHSNs do to ensure those working in engineering can make a significant contribution to global Dr Peter Bannister Learn more about AI and deep learning in healthcare healthcare, both today and in the future. ● Peter Bannister is a chartered engineer and Fellow of the IET. He chairs the IET Healthcare Sector executive, membership of which includes engineers (academic, commercial and NHS), clinicians, investors, policy experts and Eastern AHSN’s chief operating officer. He has a PhD in medical imaging and carried out post-doctoral research in machine learning. He has spent several years in industry helping to build companies and clinical solutions for surgery, diagnostic imaging, digital health and, currently – as Vice-President of Clinical Innovation at Mirada Medical – in radiation oncology. He is an Academy of Medical Sciences FLIER trainee, a programme that develops cross- sector leaders who can help deliver the UK life sciences strategy.