NIHR Devices for Dignity HTC (D4D), in collaboration with the Bladder and Bowel Foundation, has produced a new video to motivate women and teenage girls to look after their pelvic health.

“We wanted to create a video that explains the importance of the pelvic floor muscle exercises,” said Nicola Heron, programme manager at D4D. “Most teenagers aren’t aware of their pelvic floor. It’s unusual for young women to have pelvic floor problems but being aware of the pelvic floor can help them keep it in shape and avoid problems when they are older.” 

A high-dependency paediatric wheelchair was a finalist at the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) Innovation Awards 2013.

The Chair 4 Life, an adaptable wheelchair for children with high dependency needs competed against other leading medical innovations in the Healthcare Technologies category at the awards in London.

One of the key features of the Chair 4 Life is a vertical lift which allows the children eye-to-eye interaction with their peers, which improves dignity and independence.

The chair was built by design specialists Renfrew Group International, who won a National Innovation Centre competition to develop the idea based on feedback from children with high-dependency needs.

One of the key things which makes the Chair 4 Life unique is that it can be easily updated and modified through a series of attachments and components, which reduces the need to renew the entire wheelchair as the child grows, reducing clinic time and costs.

The National Institute for Health Research Devices for Dignity Healthcare Technology Co-operative (NIHR D4D HTC) was a partner in the first phase of the Chair 4 Life project.

The aim of the project was to build a chair which would incorporate the most complex equipment needs such as ventilators and oxygen cylinders, but allow children to leave hospital and be able to get out and about safely, confidently and more independently.

NIHR D4D HTC collected thoughts and ideas about design and functionality from children with high dependency needs through a series of workshops which put the children’s requirements at the forefront of the chair design. These workshops were arranged with Frazer-Nash Consultancy and hosted by the disabled children’s’ charity Whizz-Kidz.

Nicola Heron, Programme Manager of NIHR D4D HTC, said: “I’m really proud that an innovation which NIHR D4D HTC played such a key part in creating has been recognised. Children who are confined to a chair need to be able to feel dignified and independent and the Chair 4 Life gives them this.”

The IET awards were held at The Brewery, London.

To find out more visit www.theiet.org/awards

To mark the start of World Alzheimer’s Month, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is showcasing some of the cutting-edge clinical research that could bring new hope to dementia patients and their families.

Launched in 2006 by the Department of Health, the National Institute for Health Research invests in all aspects of clinical research across England, so that patients have the opportunity to take part in suitable studies, and evidence can be gathered to keep improving treatments for NHS patients.

Over the past two years, the National Institute for Health Research has put millions of pounds of extra investment into supporting clinical research into dementia, which affects 800,000 people in the UK – a figure that is expected to rise to one million people by 2021.

Now, as part of World Alzheimer’s Month, the National Institute for Health Research has launched www.FocusOnDementia.nihr.ac.uk Aimed at the general public, the online showcase highlights some of the pioneering work supported by the NIHR, which could lead to better treatments for dementia sufferers, and improvements in the quality of life for those with the condition.

For example, the showcase reveals how, with support from the NIHR, researchers in Cambridge are investigating new gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, to help patients to gain better control over the slow, stiff movement that is a feature of the disease.

The showcase also features the work of researchers in London, who are using NIHR investment to investigate how tele-care and other home support can help dementia sufferers to stay independent and live in their own homes for longer.

Visitors to the showcase site can also read how the NIHR is also supporting research into a “magic bullet”, to help “repair” the brain, and prevent people with Parkinson’s disease developing dementia.

Speaking about the launch of the online showcase, Dr Jonathan Sheffield from the NIHR said:

“The number of dementia and neurodegenerative disease studies we have delivered in the NHS has increased by 40 per cent over the last two years, and this is a growing area of clinical research. So, with World Alzheimer’s Month about to start, we wanted to take this opportunity to give people an insight into the trailblazing work that is going on behind the scenes to tackle this major problem for our society.”

The National Institute for Health Research’s showcase, www.FocusOnDementia.nihr.ac.uk , includes case studies and interviews with leading researchers, patient views on living with dementia, and advice on finding out about current clinical trials.

For further press information, or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Leicia Feare, Leicia.feare@nihr.ac.uk, 0113 343 0321

Tracy Gregg, Tracy.gregg@nihr.ac.uk, 0113 343 6570

Notes to editors: About the NIHR

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is funded by the Department of Health to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research.

Since its establishment in April 2006, the NIHR has transformed research in the NHS. It has:

• Increased the volume of applied health research for the benefit of patients and the public
• driven faster translation of basic science discoveries into tangible benefits for patients and the economy
• developed and supported the people who conduct and contribute to applied health research.

The NIHR plays a key role in the Government’s strategy for economic growth, attracting investment by the life-sciences industries through its world-class infrastructure for health research.

Together, the NIHR people, programmes, centres of excellence and systems represent the most integrated health research system in the world.

For further information, visit the NIHR website www.nihr.ac.uk

Facts about dementia
Source: www.alzheimers.org.uk

• Dementia describes different brain disorders that trigger a loss of brain function. These conditions are all usually progressive and eventually severe
• Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, affecting 62 per cent of those diagnosed
• Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, confusion and problems with speech and understanding. Dementia is a terminal condition
• There are 800,000 people with dementia in the UK with numbers set to rise to over 1 million by 2021. This will soar to 1.7 million by 2050
• One in three people over 65 will die with dementia
• Dementia costs the UK over £23 billion a year, and this figure will rise to £27 billion per annum by 2018
• There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease or any other type of dementia. Delaying the onset of dementia by five years would halve the number of deaths from the condition, saving 30,000 lives a year.

Clinicians, patients, academics and designers from across Europe have convened at Sheffield Hallam University to highlight the crucial role design plays in healthcare innovation.

Design4Health 2013, a week-long series of events hosted by Sheffield Hallam’s Lab4Living created a forum to discuss and develop designs and ideas to improve patient care.

The week began with a high-pressure 24-hour design challenge, which pitted teams against each other to create a device or intervention which would assist in the transition of one of the case conditions, Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Cystic Fibrosis (CF).

Within each of the four competing teams was someone living with or caring for someone with the case condition, working alongside two clinicians and a team of designers.

Ten countries were represented by the designers: South Korea, Portugal, Italy, France, Mexico, Poland, Argentina, Japan, Denmark and the UK.
The teams created prototypes with 3D printers and presented their concepts before a panel of judges from key healthcare organisations and charities, with two teams sharing an award for best concept.

Lab4Living is now working with the teams to take these concepts forward and seek funding for development.

The week also signalled the start of a major new exhibition featuring different health innovations including a suit made of mohair wool designed to react to individual body temperatures and an exhibit entitled ‘Head-Up’, which displayed a series of neck collars to assist patients with MND and neck muscle weakness.

The main conference was attended by more than 100 delegates from 19 different countries.

David Pao, Clinical Lecturer and HIV Physician, Centre for Behavioural Medicine, UCL School of Pharmacy, who attended the conference and exhibition, said: “‘When I initially walked into the exhibition, I thought I had entered an art gallery. But as I spent time and looked more closely, I began to see real attention to detail, quality and a considered depth to the issues the exhibits were focusing on.

“The conference was the most uplifting, friendly and welcoming I have ever been to. At the same time, the presentations demonstrated the tangible value of the collaboration between design and health, and the potential to learn from each other, working and moving forward together.”

The conference organiser, Lab4Living, is an interdisciplinary research initiative, based at Sheffield Hallam’s Art and Design Research Centre which develops environments, products and creative strategies for future living in which people of all ages and abilities ‘not merely survive’ but are enabled and empowered to live with dignity, independence and fulfilment.

Joe Langley, Senior Research Fellow at Sheffield Hallam’s Lab4Living, said: “This year’s conference was a great platform for different groups of people to see the diverse range of content, methods and disciplines which exist when creating healthcare innovations.

“The exhibition provided a real, tangible focal point for many of the debates in the conference, creating provocations, case studies and examples which enhanced and livened the discussion.”

The next Design4Health Conference is planned for 2015.

D4D’s Renal Theme has been awarded a Doctoral Research Fellowship to develop work on Body Composition Monitor (BCM) in haemodialysis patients.

The award, presented by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), in partnership with the Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) for the Department of Health, will support a Clinical Scientist working in Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust to build on the validation and adoption of the BCM and develop BCM guided fluid management strategies for dialysis patients.

D4D will be a collaborative partner in the work and one of the Renal Theme leads, Dr. Elizabeth Lindley, will act as one of the supervisors for the work.

The BCM will be used to characterise fluid distributions in healthy volunteers and in haemodialysis patients as well as exploring how these distributions are altered in these patients during fluid removal on dialysis.

Attempts at optimising fluid removal, such as promoting fluid shifts from body tissue into the vascular system, will be fully evaluated. The project aims to produce a number of fluid management strategies for different dialysis patient sub-groups, such as those with oedema or those who are prone to symptomatic episodes during dialysis. It is hoped this will help to reduce the rising number of cardiovascular risks in the population which has been linked to overhydration.

David Keane, Clinical Physicist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said: “This award is the culmination of years of work in the Renal Unit in Leeds, that started with a D4D funded project looking at BCM in paediatrics and has been supported by D4D throughout.

“It will allow me to work full-time on the project, which will use the BCM to try to make the process of fluid removal less traumatic for patients and better suited to their clinical needs.

“It also gives my team in Leeds the chance to extend their links with D4D and to forge new collaborations with clinicians and scientists in the UK and abroad.”

The NIHR, in partnership with the CSO for the Department of Health, annually runs the Healthcare Science Research Fellowship Competition to support the development of healthcare science research.