The NIHR Cambridge Healthcare Technology Co-operative (HTC) for Brain Injury was officially launched earlier this month, bringing together patients, carers, inventors, industry, academics and charities. The Brain Injury HTC works co-operatively and collaboratively to identify areas of unmet need and develop novel technology-based solutions for patients at every stage after brain injury. The HTC is one of eight co-operatives across the country to receive NIHR funding, but the only one with brain injury as its focus.

Says Professor John Pickard, Department of Neurosciences, and HTC Director: “Cambridge has been chosen as the Brain Injury HTC, firstly, because of the technology cluster, secondly because Addenbrooke’s is the regional major trauma centre, and thirdly because we are a world-class neurosurgery centre with a global network. We see a lot of patients, locally, nationally and globally; a crucial mass of patients that allows us to learn from each other so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel.”

The wider aims of the HTC are to provide a focus to catalyse NHS ‘pull’ into practice both nationally and internationally, increase UK capacity for developing and testing new concepts, and to act as an international knowledge centre and advocate for the identification and development of new solutions.

Pictured at the launch of the new co-operative are, front, from left: Elisabeth Runcie,  Julian Huppert MP and Mita Brahmbhatt. Back, from left: John Bradley, John Pickard, Alexis Joannides, Robert Runcie and Jag Ahluwalia.  Picture credit: Richard Patterson, Cambridge News.

To find out more about the role of the HTC please contact Mita Brahmbhatt (mb994@cam.ac.uk)