Scotland’s Digital Health and Care Institute (DHCI) has received a £10 million in funding from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorate.
It represents a real terms reduction over the next five years and, according to the organisation’s business plan for 2019-24, will present a number of operational challenges to the institute.
Despite this, it will enable the DHCI to continue projects on technologies such as 5G and working with its expanding clusters of academic and industry expertise.
Further and Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead (pictured) said: “Our culture of innovation in health and care is rightly recognised on the world stage. This funding of up to £10 million will help further the vital work of the Digital Health and Care Institute to harness data and technology, with benefits for people all over the world.
“By creating and fostering links between academia, public services and industry we can drive progress towards Scotland’s national aims as well as the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”
Collaboration centre
Launched in 2013, the Digital Health and Care Institute is an industry led innovation centre, and a collaboration between the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Strathclyde (its host institution). It employs experts in service development, technology and product design to work alongside universities, colleges, manufacturers as well as the NHS, charities and other health and social care organisations.
It has amassed over 60 project partners and a portfolio of over 120 projects in the past five years.
These include a project with the University of Abertay, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Macmillan which uses artificial intelligence to predict the service needs of people living with cancer.
In July the institute announced a service innovation, using camera pill technology and a managed service, to support clinicians working in gastroenterology services.
Its newest commercial collaboration is with IBM, looking at how technology can be used to help people make better health and lifestyle choices. The project also includes ways to support health and care providers plan and deliver better services.
Image from Scottish Government, OGL v1.0