Digital health solutions in the South West of England: An EPIC legacy

The EPIC project is celebrating six years of eHealth research and collaboration with local industry – it has supported more than 150 organisations in the South West of England. Interested parties can join the South West’s top innovators, academics, and industry experts for a series of themed workshops on topics such as Natural Language Processing and AI, patient empowerment, and digital mental health, as well as insightful discussions from expert panellists within the NHS and University of Plymouth about the future of health tech at EPIC’s next conference in St Austell on March 8: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/looking-back-looking-forward-collaborations-in-digital-health-and-care-tickets-523528085597

The University of Plymouth hosted a successful celebration of six years of eHealth research and collaboration with local industry on Thursday February 9^th, showcasing the work of its eHealth Productivity and Innovation in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (EPIC) project. The project, part of ECHAlliance’s South West Interdisciplinary Technology Consortium for Health and Care (SWITCH) ecosystem, will be drawing to a close this spring.

Since 2017, EPIC has helped more than 150 organisations throughout the South West with academic support from subject matter experts at the university, professional development events, and grant funding through the Challenge Fund. 

Some of the notable accomplishments discussed throughout the workshop included EPIC’s work with robotics company Akara on disinfection robots in clinical settings, which showed extremely promising results during a 2022 trial at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (RCHT), as well as the placement of 150 Amazon Echo Spots in 150 Cornish care homes to provide older people in the county with comfort and support.

EPIC, a collaborative project, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund and the South West Academic Health Science Network, might be winding down, but the legacy of innovation will continue.

Project manager, Jay Amies said: “We have seen some truly incredible eHealth developments in the South West over the past few years and the organisations that EPIC has supported will no doubt continue to strengthen the digital health ecosystem by providing real world solutions for their local communities. We’re extremely proud of what EPIC – together with all our partners – have accomplished.” 

Want to learn more? Join the South West’s top innovators, academics, and industry experts for a series of themed workshops on topics such as Natural Language Processing and AI, patient empowerment, and digital mental health, as well as insightful discussions from expert panellists within the NHS and University of Plymouth about the future of health tech at EPIC’s next conference in St Austell on March 8: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/looking-back-looking-forward-collaborations-in-digital-health-and-care-tickets-523528085597