The Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) Diagnostics and Technology Accelerator (DiTA) has been created to catalyse evidence generation for commercial IVDs and medtech through delivering support
Led by a diverse multidisciplinary team of clinicians and methodologists, directed by Professor Rick Body, Professor and Honorary Consultant in Emergency Medicine, DiTA will harness the expertise within the team and wider networks to rapidly identify the optimum solutions to meet the needs of our patients; our partners from industry, healthcare and academia; and the wider NHS.
Having identified and prioritised the key research questions, DiTA can convene a team of appropriate stakeholders to efficiently achieve shared goals with our collaborators. Drawing on partnerships with established networks, these teams may be local (within MFT), regional, national or international. DiTA offers access to individuals with a wide range of expertise including patient and public involvement, multi-centre clinical trials, systematic reviews, health economics, biostatistics, decision analytics, qualitative research methods.
When the clinical and cost-effectiveness of new technologies has been adequately demonstrated, patients and the NHS must be able to rapidly benefit from their implementation in practice. DiTA will work with companies to overcome important barriers to clinical implementation. The bespoke solutions that we identify in collaboration with our industry partners may involve working to achieve regulatory approval, NICE recommendations and commissioning decisions. DiTA will also enhance the dissemination of research findings and will provide education for key stakeholders in the commissioning process.
As part of MFT, DiTA has access to many of the UK’s leading clinicians and academics, large patient cohorts plus the resources of a world-class research and innovation team. As part of Health Innovation Manchester, our strong links with collaborators across Greater Manchester enable us to reach a population of 2.8 million – caring for both adults and children across nine hospitals plus community services. DiTA is also partnering with numerous national networks, enabling us to rapidly prioritise, design and deliver both small- and large-scale clinical evaluations of new technologies.
The DiTA initiative was formally launched at a showcase event in Manchester in February, where delegates from across the NHS, healthcare, industry and universities, heard about DiTA’s mission, exemplar projects, and future activities and ambitions.
You can view Twitter highlights from the event here.
Over the coming months DiTA will be releasing a call for pump prime funding, as well as formalising its consultancy service for companies and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). DiTA will also be launching further focused workshops, patient hack events, and subject-specific webinars.
Find out more about DiTA (including funding) on the MFT website, or get in touch via DITA@mft.nhs.uk.