Achievements in innovation hailed
BREAKTHROUGHS in health technology and life sciences were celebrated last week at the MediWales Innovation Awards in Cardiff.
More than 300 VIPs and guests came together for the gala evening at the National Museum of Wales on December 12.
Ten awards were handed out on the night, all recognising outstanding achievements in the field.
Chepstow-based medical device company Creo Medical won the industry award for Innovation for producing a decontamination device for surgical endoscopy.
The device has proven to decrease the risk of post-operative infections or cross contamination, meaning shorter hospital stays, fewer postoperative drugs and fewer outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Digital health company Aparito, based in Wrexham, received the Start-Up award for creating a piece of software designed to monitor patients outside hospital.
It provides data between patients and clinicians to support and enhance treatment monitoring and drug development.
DTR Medical won the industry Partnership with the NHS award for their hands-on device that allows medical trainees to practise examining patients for cervical cancer.
And the award for Outstanding Achievement went to Sharp Clinical Services, a leading provider of specialist clinical supply chain services, and the Export award went to CellPath, whose international trade programme has resulted in a huge increase in their export sales.
The final industry award, the Judges’ Award, was given to digital health start-up Bond Digital Health.
Research Excellence in the NHS was awarded to Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board and Swansea University Medical School for their clinical trial that explored the use of the AliveCor Kardia mobile device to detect atrial fibrillation, which is a common cause of stroke.
OBS Cymru came out top in the Efficiency Through Technology – High Impact category, due to their work improving outcomes for women experiencing postpartum haemorrhage.
The NHS Wales Collaboration with Industry award went to Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board’s Department of Diabetes and Swansea University Diabetes Research Group for their collaborative clinical trials with companies of all sizes.
Lymphoedema Network Wales received the Innovation within NHS Wales award thanks to their on-the-ground education project, enabling community nurses to gain knowledge and learn skills around lymphoedema and chronic oedema.
The final NHS award, the Judges’ Award, was won by the NHS Wales Informatics Choose Pharmacy Team, who are increasing the availability of a new system that allows GPS and community pharmacists to share patient information.