Leuchie and partners delighted to secure UTI project funding
A partnership involving Leuchie is among 14 new multidisciplinary projects sharing £10 million in funding to develop technologies to help people to transform their care and health, and be more independent.
Our Enabling Technology team will participate in a project, led by Professor Kia Nazarpour, to facilitate health and wellbeing by developing systems for early recognition of urinary tract infections.
We will work alongside experts and partners from the University of Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt University, The National Robotarium, School of Infomatics and Blackwood Homes and Care.
Professor Nazarpour said: “Infection of the urinary tract affects the health and wellbeing of 150 million people each year globally.
“We look forward to working closely with Leuchie House and other partners to co-design and co-evaluate new tools and machine learning-based methods for early recognition of urinary tract infections and to enable longer and healthier independent living.”
Mark Bevan, Leuchie CEO, said: “We have supported people in the last year by identifying and helping to treat UTIs. They can range from mild irritation to life threatening conditions and cost the NHS millions each year to treat.
“Leuchie House is investing significantly in future-care and we are delighted to be a key partner, along with our guests in this ground-breaking research, using technology to identify and treat these debilitating conditions early, before they become serious and costly.
“In this and many other ways Leuchie is bringing our expertise and resources to support initiatives which can impact health care across Scotland.
The £10m overall investment was announced by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
EPSRC Director for Cross-Council Programmes, Dr Kedar Pandya, said: "Peoples’ needs and preferences, and those of their families and communities, must be at the heart of research that maximises independence and prevents ill health.
The projects announced bring together a wide range of partners, crucially including those with lived experience, to deliver on EPSRC and NIHR’s shared ambition to invest in research that is transforming health and healthcare, supporting healthier living in the UK.
Professor Martin Knapp, NIHR’s social care spokesperson and director of the NIHR School for Social Care Research, said: "We are committed to funding and supporting research that expands and strengthens the way that social care is provided.
“We hope these studies will provide high quality evidence that will empower people to stay independent and well at home with their families and in their communities.
“This new investment builds on NIHR’s already rapidly growing high quality research portfolio in this vital part of the health and care sector and demonstrates our commitment to research through collaborating with other public funders.”
To read more and learn about the other 13 projects which have been funded, visit:
https://www.ukri.org/news/transforming-care-and-health-at-home/