Judging panel including Hill Dickinson life sciences lawyers selects Liverpool’s Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust ‘Neurobot’ as the winner of Glow’s Healthtech Prototyper competition

Liverpool’s The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust has been announced as the winner of an exciting digital health prototype competition run by award winning mobile app developer Glow New Media.

Glow New Media, an expert digital agency that specialises in healthcare, healthtech and medtech, created the Healthtech Prototyper competition to allow innovators to win rapid, UX prototyping for their healthtech ideas. A judging panel comprising partner organisations including Hill Dickinson, select a winner whose innovation Glow New Media will help deliver.

Earlier this month, on 8 October 2020, Liverpool-based The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust was announced as the winner of the latest round of the Glow Healthtech Prototyper competition for its ‘NeuroBot’ innovation.

Hill Dickinson’s expert healthtech and life sciences lawyers, Jamie Foster and Richard Parker, sat on the judging panel for the third round of the Healthtech UX Prototyper Programme. 

Jamie Foster, a partner in the firm’s Life Sciences team, said: “The Walton NHS Foundation Trust is a very worthy winner of the Healthtech Prototyper competition and we are delighted to have played a part in recognising the trust’s achievement. The Walton Centre is the only specialist hospital trust in the UK dedicated to providing comprehensive neurology, neurosurgery and related services. With the support of Glow New Media to help deliver the service, its NeuroBot will further enhance patient care and drive efficiencies, while also supporting NHS cost improvements and other programmes of work.”

Hill Dickinson is well-positioned in the healthtech sector being a market-leading provider of legal services to companies specialising in technology. The firm advises on regulatory compliance, intellectual property protection and exploitation, collaboration and licence agreements, and investments, mergers and acquisitions.

Richard Parker, senior associate in Hill Dickinson’s Healthcare Commercial team, added: “The COVID-19 pandemic has seen a huge push to embrace innovative technologies as healthcare providers seek new and more effective ways to help patients access their services remotely. As competition host, the team at Glow New Media will now help turn The Walton Centre’s NeuroBot concept into a demonstrable visual prototype with the potential to provide a real step-change in how patient services are managed.” 

The Walton Centre’s application was led by Dr Abhijit Das, a consultant at The Walton Centre who cares for neurology patients, and Dr Andrew Rose, head of Commercial Engagement and Marketing.

Phil Blything, managing director at Glow New Media said: “Innovating in healthcare is difficult, complex and takes too long. We created this competition to supercharge the ‘doctorpreneurs’ and put the resource in their hands to transform the pace of innovation where it matters most. It’s a privilege and humbling to work alongside these world class clinicians and I’m excited by the opportunities to increase UK competitiveness on the global healthtech stage.”

Previous winners include Affect AI, an app with voice-based mood monitoring for depression care, and Invision, a device to help doctors detect eye disease earlier. 

Winning submissions receive expert support and resource, turning an idea into a demonstrable visual prototype, useful for gaining further support or funding or in some cases even early stage validation.

The fourth round of the Healthtech UX Prototyper competition is now open for applications.