Surgical Care Observatory

Theme Leads:  Dr Helen Hughes and Professor Alejandro Frangi

 

Background

Technology drives innovation in healthcare, and the pace of change is accelerating, driven by academic labs, governments, large corporations, startups etc. Translation, demand, and adoption, however, are determined by multiple other factors, including patient pathway analysis, reimbursement strategies, and regulatory milieu, to name a few.

Better-informed decisions on emerging health technologies and their adoption must be underpinned by evidence and data: from demand- and cost-driven qualifiers of underlying unmet clinical needs and socio-economic burden to efficiency metrics to deliver more sustainable and equitable health and care access and provision to improve patient outcomes and economic growth. The complexity of the data requires dedicated effort and specialist capabilities supporting clinical innovators, academic scientists and industry.

 

---

 

Areas of Focus

Horizon scanning and prioritized areas: We will gain a deep understanding of the current and future NHS pressures by analysing waiting list data, sources of primary economic burden or operational inefficiency, by clinical specialty and procedures, to explore opportunities for new surgical treatments.

Generation of regulatory evidence on safety and efficacy.  We will use computational modelling and simulation (CMS) in product innovation as a responsible, patient-sparing way of producing digital evidence on safety and efficacy. This balances the desire for certainty in medical device performance while limiting the delay in patient access associated with increased certainty.

Early behavioural technology assessment. Prioritised technologies/companies will benefit from preferential access to the Behaviour Lab at Leeds Business School to test product usability, including applied and human factors research, with access to on-site knowledge in the Work Based Research Centre and through external partners.

 

---