MATCH - Renewal of IMRC Award

Lead Research Organisation: Brunel University London
Department Name: Information Systems Computing and Maths

Abstract

To maintain continuity with MATCH Phase 1, it has been requested that MATCH Phase 2 follows the current programme breakdown in terms of Projects A-F from 2008-2013 / a vision that is described below. We note that MATCH changed dramatically in creating the projects A-F and that further changes in the themes are inevitable. An overview of these themes is given below.Projects A, B and C address economic evaluation and its impact in decision-making by companies, governments and procurement agencies. We have identified a major demand for such research, but note that there is some convergence between these themes (for instance, A and C may well coalesce under the Bayesian banner). In particular, a 'methodologies' theme is likely to emerge in this. Under the former theme, a truly integrated Bayesian framework for medical devices would represent a strategically important achievement.On the other hand, the business of delivering these developments to industry, and the organisations or franchises that might ultimately provide the best vehicle for doing so, still requires further exploration and negotiation, and at this point there is considerable uncertainty about how this will best be done. However the critical element has been established, namely that MATCH can provide useful tools for, and attract significant levels of funding from industry. To this extent, the applied side of Project A-F and Project 5 might well evolve into a series of programmes designed to spin out tools, training and best practice into industry. Project 5 remains for the present because we have set it up with a framework within which company IP can be protected, and within which we can expedite projects to company goals and time scales.A similar pattern is likely to emerge from the single User project (D), where there is considerable scope for capability, and methodological development / and the size of this team needs to increase. The aim is to develop a suite of methods, guidelines and examples, describing when a given method is useful and when user needs assessment must be cost-effective. We will gain and share experience on what approach works best where. Our taxonomy will recognise circumstances where the novelty of a proposed device may undermine the validity of user needs assessment conducted before the 'technological push' has had a fair opportunity to impact on the human imagination.Moreover, new research is needed to 'glue' some of these themes together. Some of this is already included (for instance, in Projects C and D below) to link the user-facing social science with the economics, or the pathway-changing experiences (F) with formal economic evaluation, will require new, cross-disciplinary research. This type of research is essential to developing the shared view of value, which MATCH is pursuing. Similarly, integrating supply-chain decision-making and procurement elements of theme (E) with economic evaluation would represent an important element of unification.To achieve this, we will need to bring in some news skills. For instance, we are already freeing up some funding to bring in an economics researcher at Ulster; more statistical mathematical support may be needed to further develop the Bayesian theme; and we need to bolster the sociological element within the team.Finally, this vision cannot be funded entirely within a research framework, and we expect critical elements to be achieved under other funding (for instance, Theme E by the NHS, in due course).

Organisations

Publications

10 25 50
publication icon
Wang Z (2013) Modeling Throughput of Emergency Departments via Time Series An Expectation Maximization Algorithm in ACM Transactions on Management Information Systems

publication icon
McClean S (2011) A modeling framework that combines markov models and discrete-event simulation for stroke patient care in ACM Transactions on Modeling and Computer Simulation

publication icon
Shekelle PG (2013) The top patient safety strategies that can be encouraged for adoption now. in Annals of internal medicine

publication icon
Bowater RJ (2009) Is antibiotic prophylaxis in surgery a generally effective intervention? Testing a generic hypothesis over a set of meta-analyses. in Annals of surgery

publication icon
Bowater RJ (2012) Efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery when considered over all cancer types: a synthesis of meta-analyses. in Annals of surgical oncology

publication icon
Lang AR (2013) The effect of design on the usability and real world effectiveness of medical devices: a case study with adolescent users. in Applied ergonomics

publication icon
Martin JL (2012) A user-centred approach to requirements elicitation in medical device development: a case study from an industry perspective. in Applied ergonomics

publication icon
Arnold DT (2011) Should patients with abnormal liver function tests in primary care be tested for chronic viral hepatitis: cost minimisation analysis based on a comprehensively tested cohort. in BMC family practice

publication icon
Vasileiou K (2013) Interpreting and acting upon home blood pressure readings: a qualitative study. in BMC family practice

publication icon
Singh J (2013) Exploring what lies behind public preferences for avoiding health losses caused by lapses in healthcare safety and patient lifestyle choices. in BMC health services research

 
Description MATCH was run as an integrated programme with MATCH Plus (EP/G012393/1) and built on the work of the original MATCH grant (GR/S29874/01), all under the MATCH brand. These are fully reported in: MATCH Final report (2003-2013); MATCH Impact Report - People Stories; MATCH Impact report - MATCH influence on Health, industry and policy. All of these are available electronically on www.match.ac.uk.
With the development of supply side economics (Girling et al, 2010 & 2012), we have joined the economic and the business perspectives to a large degree. The elegance of our approach is that it uses information that would form part of the value-for-money case to a purchaser, to quantify the risk that manufacturers carry forward throughout their development process. Moreover, through the MATCH Workbook, we have shown how the approach may be used over and over again along the product development pathway. The methodological development to express user views of safety (Steuten & Buxton, 2010) and health losses (Singh et al, 2012 & 2013) are examples of theory that links the green and red arrows. Once user preferences can be reliably expressed in terms of an economic premium, then the business and user views can be brought together. However, a considerable amount of research remains to be done to make this happen, because health measures of utility - quality adjusted life years, for example - are very coarse measures for detecting the differences in user preference. We have, however, focused on ways to make user views accessible to designers so that they can inform the internal business processes, such as Voice of the Customer, which can channel such information into the product design cycle. The use of social media is the latest and perhaps the most exciting element of this research.
The academic metrics are reported from page 30 onwards of the Annual Report. Although the funding of studentships on the grant was withdrawn, a total of 18 students have been funded through a combination of the EPSRC Doctoral Training Account, the grant and other sources. Of these, 12 students have graduated. The titles of their theses are listed on p30. The number of papers from MATCH will inevitably rise as the pipeline continues to deliver, but of the 130 papers published or accepted to date, 11 have already been cited more than 20 times, and the corpus has enjoyed over 600 citations.
Exploitation Route The impact indicates great potential for use by service delivery agencies, health technology procurement agencies, and companies offering products and services in the health sector. Our contribution to an impact on health and in industry, includes: Development of the Headroom method for early stage assessment of the value and its application with industry; Development of MATCH software tools to support health economic evaluation and user needs elicitation; Collaboration with hospitals in modelling of clinical pathways for those with stroke and atrial fibrillation; Industry case studies including work with DePuy, Sofradim, Randox and Moor Instruments; Use of MATCH tools by ABA consultants to support 30 companies and 10 NICE/medical technology assessment submissions.
Critical policy contributions include: Contributing to the Healthcare Industries Task Force and supporting the implementation of health economic evaluation by the Centre of Evidence; Contributing to the setting up of NICE's MedTech evaluation programme; Working with the National Patient Safety Agency and producing a guide to user testing in medical devices; Contributing to writing a SCIE guide for carers of people with dementia of how to best use technology solutions.
The impact on the research community is captured in a separate volume: MATCH Analysis of Impact: People Stories. Nearly a fifth of everyone involved in MATCH (students, researchers, support and administrative staff, and academics) have moved into industry or the public sector, while more than a third have been promoted in their own or another institution, indicating MATCH's dynamic contribution towards capacity-building. Beyond this has been the personal learning, where narrative after narrative reports on the way people have expanded their horizons and their technical skills by working in the highly multi-disciplinary environment that has been created.
Sectors Healthcare
URL http://www.match.ac.uk
 
Description Vital signs monitoring is a key element of hospital care. Traditionally, the status of a patient is determined by routine observation of their physiological status, e.g. heart rate, blood pressure, temperature, blood oxygen, respiration rate, urine output, etc. Technological advances have lead to many of these measurements being automated via suitable sensors, software and advanced methods for data acquisition and communication. Continuous measurement of physiological well-being can add significant benefit to clinical care, yet the devices employed are generally treated as a more efficient means of attaining the same data as that obtained from routine observation. There is a case, however, for recording real-time vital signs information and interfacing this directly with medical databases. Not only can these data be relayed to clinicians in a more timely way, for example providing an alert should they stray outside set parameters, but they can also be used to detect underlying conditions not picked up during routine monitoring. Theory is one thing; in practice it is more complicated to prove such benefits. In particular, it is not always clear how different clinicians utilise this type of information and how effective integration of the technology within the plan for acute care can be achieved. It was on this problem that we began to work with Intelesens Ltd in 2010. The company manufacture the Vitalsens device, which automates monitoring of vital signs within home-based telehealth services. Our two-year project was part funded by Invest Northern Ireland (INI) via its Innovation Voucher scheme. We introduced the company to the relevant NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) Guidelines for diagnosis of TLoC. Options for engagement with the NICE evaluation processes were considered to allow Intelesens to understand how best to bring their technology to market. The main outcome was the provision of timely information to assist the company in making critical business decisions. We did this by comparing the Vitalsens device with an existing solution, i.e. a comparator product. Intelesens used the information gained in their collaboration with the MATCH programme to establish a more detailed product specification for a new version of the Vitalsens device for use on TLoC diagnosis. In particular, the company was able to target and significantly extend the capabilities of Holter monitoring using their expertise in wireless technology coupled to on-board cardiac arrhythmia detection and smart protocols for data storage and review. A fully operational prototype device has now been developed and has undergone significant testing and refinement. Within the last nine months the final product has successfully obtained regulatory approval within the EU and is undergoing clinical trials in a number of hospital-based centres that specialise in the early diagnosis of TLoC. Beneficiaries: Intellesens Contribution Method: By being able to access expertise and know-how from the academic world to support critical business decisions. Since 2006 MATCH has been engaged in a collaboration with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust which has focused on modelling stroke patient pathways through hospital, social and community services. In recent years it has become increasingly important that the provision of healthcare should not only be cost effective but also be patient-centred and deal with the entire episode of patient healthcare rather than specific elements of the pathway, e.g. emergency care or particular patient groups or pathologies. This is a difficult task as patients can take numerous diverse pathways through a healthcare facility or system, depending on their needs. We have therefore developed a multi-phase modelling approach to pathway management that facilitates the study of both the specific elements of a patient pathway, and its overall impact on cost, patient quality of life, and clinical outcome. A phase-type Markov model was previously developed by McClean and co-researchers for patient flow through care pathways, including phases in hospital, social services and community care. More recently, the model has been extended in collaboration with Dr Ken Fullerton and colleagues from the Belfast City Hospital Stroke Unit, thus pioneering an integrated probabilistic model of patient flow, with associated costs and quality of life metrics. A software tool for capacity planning has also been developed. The work has had a significant impact on practice and policy for stroke patient management in the Belfast Trust and is applicable throughout the UK. In conjunction with the model, various scenarios have been explored focusing on the potential savings in the service, particularly in community rehabilitation, alongside improvements in quality of life, should the proportion of patients who are administered thrombolysis be increased. As regards impact of the work, to quote Dr Ken Fullerton, previously Clinical Director of Older Persons Services in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and currently Associate Medical Director for Unscheduled Care in the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust: "The modelling work (MATCH) has undertaken for us has been very helpful in several ways: In respect of stroke thrombolysis it has demonstrated the value in terms of better outcomes and reduced cost of significantly increasing the proportion of stroke patients' thrombolysis. The reduced costs are associated with less disability, less need for rehabilitation and less likelihood of institutional care; In terms of supported stroke discharge, you (MATCH) have clearly demonstrated further potential gains if we accelerate our moves towards earlier discharges; The modelling has also shown that our change of model in the community schemes with relatively more input from trained rehabilitation assistants makes the schemes accessible to greater numbers of patients at substantially reduced costs per case, but with better outcomes.; The models have attracted interest at the highest level in the Northern Ireland Department of Health and Social Care"; Regarding significance, Dr Fullerton says that 'our use of mathematical modelling and simulation techniques, based on real world data, to consider the effects of proposed changes before they are put in place' has allowed the service 'to confidently and rapidly expand our thrombolysis rates' with consequent impact on healthcare budgets and patient quality of life. Dr Fullerton is convinced that 'the modelling techniques we have previously employed will become vital tools enabling us to consider the likely effects, whether beneficial or harmful, which our proposed changes may bring about, both in terms of patient outcome and in terms of the health economy.'. Beneficiaries: Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Contribution Method: Advanced modelling techniques were applied to real hospital and social care scenarios to deliver higher quality, more cost-effective, care. When patients attend an A&E department with chest pain, the first thing doctors want to do is establish the cause of the chest pain and if it is of cardiac origin. The aim of the work was to evaluate the cost implications of adopting a diagnostic test for a cardiac marker in A&E and involved assessing the monetary value of adopting a new rapid screening protocol for patients who present at A&E with chest pain that may be cardiac in origin. The screening protocol proposed looking for a heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) that is released during ischaemia (lack of oxygen) to heart cells which if prolonged results in a cell death and a heart attack. Its presence in the blood indicates that the chest pain may therefore be cardiac in origin and requires further investigation. Its absence combined with other data (such as the levels of other markers and ECG results) can be used to rule out heart damage and may enable the safe discharge of a percentage of patients whose chest pain is not cardiac. However, H-FABP is not currently routinely used within A&E departments. Our industrial partner, Randox, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of reagents, quality control material and clinical analysers, with products currently used in over 145 countries. The increasing need to demonstrate the clinical and cost saving implications of adopting their diagnostic technologies led to their involvement in the MATCH program. Collaborating with MATCH gave Randox access to specialist HTA capability, and provided a degree of independence. An independent financial assessment is critical for any new medical procedure to demonstrate the efficiencies achievable. A collaborating clinician, Dr Richard Body, from the Manchester NHS Foundation Trust collected data from 473 presenting patients. It was found that by adopting the new protocol which incorporates H-FABP, that some 44% of patients would have been discharged from A&E, compared to only 7% discharged under the current system. A 30 day follow up found that none of the extra patients discharged using the new protocol went on to develop acute myocardial infarction within the follow up period. To understand the cost-benefit position, Dr Dixon from MATCH and his team used published data on healthcare costs in order to value the adoption of this new rule-out protocol for chest pain. They showed that adopting it would result in a saving of approximately £327 per presenting patient. Given that chest pain accounts for some 6% of A&E attendances and more than 25% of A&E admissions, the new protocol offers significant potential savings. The work was presented at the International Conference on Emergency Medicine 2012 and the meeting was attended by Dr Body, Dr Dixon and Randox staff. The results were also published as an abstract in Academic Emergency Medicine. The work required close collaboration between Dr Dixon, Dr Body and Randox staff who developed the test and the protocol. In additional to the published outputs, the work raised awareness of HTA within Randox and has informed their plans for the H-FABP product line. Specifically the work has been used by Randox in the marketing of the H-FABP diagnostic equipment and is cited in product brochures (http://www.h-fabp.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/LT237.pdf). Although it is difficult to calculate sales generated through this piece of work, Randox acknowledges that here has been a general increase in the recognition of the value of H-FABP and the value of MATCH's economic analysis has certainly strengthened the evidence for using H-FABP to aid in the early rule out of AMI in chest pain patients arriving at A&E. Beneficiaries: Randox Contribution Method: Randox. Dr Mary Jo Kurth of Randox Laboratories Ltd, commented: 'This work carried out with MATCH has been critical in demonstrating the value of the diagnostic test and has been widely used in sales presentations and in Randox brochures. The work was performed in a timely and professional manner and has highlighted the importance of HTA to Randox. It is envisioned that this area will become more important as economic factors are critical for global healthcare programmes.' Adams Business Associates (ABA) believed from the beginning of MATCH that Health Technology Assessment (HTA) of medical devices would become a major item for Industry. ABA recognised the importance of being linked to an organisation developing tools that could be used by industry and became an industry partner in 2004. Our insight was that rigorous economic analysis would be required for medical devices as healthcare providers globally, not just the NHS, were unable to economically support patient demands for treatments. An important feature was the assessment of costs not just on product prices but on the changed impact of delivery or treatment and the savings that might come from consequential items, not least improved outcomes. An important feature of the MATCH tools for HTA were their application to medical devices, including diagnostics, that moved such economic analysis away from the different demands for HTA required for pharmaceutical products. The industrial applications allowed MATCH tools to be developed and applied to a range of medical devices, services and transfer of treatments from hospital to home or outpatient settings. Our first work with MATCH came as MATCH was developing the Health Economic Evaluator Tool (HEET), which we felt was mutually beneficial as we were working with the National Innovation Centre (NIC) and NHS Innovation Hubs to produce economic assessment systems for innovations into the NHS. The core MATCH tool was developed for this use and applied to some 20 devices, diagnostics and services with potential application in the NHS. This identified potential savings from these devices at reasonable adoption levels (20-40%) of over £ 1.5 billion for the NHS. We have applied various MATCH methods with more than 30 individual companies assessing the economic impact of their products when introduced into the NHS. Importantly the economic analyses have been added to nearly ten Industry submissions for NICE approval or Medical Technology Assessments. Potential savings to the NHS identified by use of the various MATCH tools, and further developed by ABA in collaboration with MATCH teams, ranged from £ 2m to over £1bn each. The approximate total potential savings for the NHS through adoption of these innovations, identified from all the commercial analyses, was in excess of £2.5bn. A second area, more financially focused, has been in assessing the economic impact of telemonitoring in a specific disease group. This is a current area of intense interest clinically and politically in moving care out of hospital but has lacked rigorous cost analysis. The MATCH HEET was modified to allow a cash-based analysis and showed for the first time the true cost of this development. This work has led onto further application of the tool across other telehealth approaches and even to consideration of the use of social media with support to the new Chorus tool being developed by MATCH. Through our collaboration with MATCH, we have achieved important insights into the real needs of users in the point-of-care diagnostics market and the real cost benefits and impact of telehealth for chronically ill patients. The legacy from this will be extension of this application in an area that has political and commercial drive but which currently lacks rigorous economic assessment. Beneficiaries: Adam's Business Associates and its clients. Contribution Method: The methods emerging from MATCH were suitable for integration into various business processes. Designing health technologies that are tailored to the needs and values of users has been well recognised as an equally important consideration to those of safety, effectiveness, and efficiency. A user-centred approach becomes even more critical for health technologies that are designed for home use due to the challenges that the lay user and the non-clinical environment pose. But how do medical device manufacturers attempt in practice to incorporate user needs into the technology? An important opportunity to explore this research question came up when I was seconded by MATCH to Omron Healthcare Europe. Omron, an organisation of Japanese heritage with a global presence, is a leading manufacturer in blood pressure monitoring with a strong focus on home healthcare products and noteworthy participation in clinical research projects (e.g. the well-known Ohasama study http://www.epi.umn.edu/cvdepi/study.asp?id=30). From March 2013 till July 2013, I had the opportunity to be placed in the marketing department of Omron headquarters in the Netherlands and to follow up, and participate in, the process of conceiving and designing a new blood pressure monitor for home use. More specifically, I was involved in the research activities that supported the product development process and attended relevant meetings and discussions with marketers, designers, engineers and researchers. In this way, I was able to observe not only the decision-making that is involved in the medical device development cycle, but also the challenges that the industry faces in its effort to bring to the market a medical device that satisfies its intended user. During the placement I saw how Omron Healthcare places considerable value on research around user needs and adopts a largely evidence-based approach. The organisation routinely runs studies to test assumptions and to base its decision-making on how best to accommodate end-users' requirements. The very fact that Omron was keen to host a PhD researcher, who would conduct ethnography as part of the secondment, illustrates the openness of the organisation to research. This four-month placement was part of my PhD research on the needs of users of medical devices for home use. The work is still in progress as the material collected is being analysed. The secondment proved to be an excellent opportunity for adopting an ethnographic approach to the research question; participant observation and qualitative interviews with several employees of the company were used as the main methods for collecting data. This case study will form part of my thesis and is expected to lead to one peer-reviewed publication and one conference paper. I am continuing to keep contact with the organisation in order to feed the results of the study back and to explore potential ways of beneficial dissemination. I benefited considerably from working within an industrial context that allowed me to explore my main research question. The secondment was a valuable opportunity for me to observe directly the complex real world conditions within which medical device manufacturers are called to act, while also gaining experience of how user needs research is being conducted outside academia. Beneficiaries: An Omron Product Manager reports: 'We found Dina's ability to help us to define the correct critical success factors for gaining excellent consumer insight invaluable. She challenged us to always keep in mind the context of a result as well as the composition of the research sample and in this way she helped us to be even more confident about the actions that we take based on our research reports. She definitely had an impact on the way we will plan and conduct research in the future.' Contribution Method: By enabling academic ethnography to be applied in a commercial environment This work has specifically considered using reminders to support the impairments of memory for those suffering from mild dementia. This has involved the design, development and evaluation of a video based reminding system using mobile phone technologies. To assist in improving acceptance of this solution by users, our recent efforts have considered the best way to include stakeholders' views whilst adopting a user-centred iterative design and evaluation methodology. The solution has been evaluated on cohorts of elderly users, patients with dementia and control groups, along with their carers and has resulted in over 400 days worth of evaluations. As a result, we have demonstrated the utility of such an approach from the perspective both of patients and their carers. This has led to the establishment of a workflow model for the specific instance of reminding persons with dementia. Based on the findings from this research and an extended collaboration between an Italian SME I+ and the University of Ulster, a set of new functionalities have been included into the DGHome platform, a telecare service platform product produced by the company. In addition, the company has now entered into a licensing agreement with the University of Ulster to incorporate the knowledge gained through working with people with dementia and video based reminding technology into the commercial product. Mobile phone based applications will be incorporated to support the delivery of reminder messages for both self-management and support of chronic health conditions. This will further extend the functionality of the DGHome platform and it is anticipated will lead to increased numbers of sales of the DGHome platform. The collaboration was further extended in November 2012 by establishing a joint commercial venture, CENT Healthcare Ltd, which aims to promote the deployment of connected health solutions including DGHome products within the UK. One of the key challenges in the area of assistive technology is the lack of technology adoption. In our work within the MATCH Project we have retrospectively analysed the success or otherwise of using assistive technology for dementia patients and have developed a statistical model to predict, based on a profile of a dementia patient, the likelihood of technology adoption. An extension to this work has recently been supported through funding obtained from the Alzheimer's Association in conjunction with colleagues from Utah State University and the University of Utah. The approach is currently being evaluated with a cohort of 125 patients in Utah over a period of 12 months. At a local level, a series of workshops where the reminding technology has been demonstrated has led to a range of positive feedback about how such technology has been incorporated into daily practice and how this has led to a change in the manner in which carers provide support. Additionally, we have produced training material for the Social Care Institute for Excellence for social care providers in their use of ICT. Cristiano Paggetti, Managing Director I+ S.rl, said: 'The video based reminding solution is something which we see a lot of value in. We are looking forward to working with the University [of Ulster] to incorporate their knowledge into an extension of the functionalities of DGHome.'. Beneficiaries: I+ Contribution Method: By allowing a company to exploit academic expertise and methods to improve its user-needs analysis and the service it can offer on the back of its technology. MATCH was run as an integrated programme with MATCH Plus (EP/G012393/1) and built on the work of the original MATCH grant (GR/S29874/01), all under the MATCH brand. These are fully reported in: MATCH Final report (2003-2013); MATCH Impact Report - People Stories; MATCH Impact report - MATCH influence on Health, industry and policy. All of these are available electronically on www.match.ac.uk. Beneficiaries: Various, see MATCH Final report (2003-2013); MATCH Impact Report - People Stories; MATCH Impact report - MATCH influence on Health, industry and policy. All of these are available electronically on www.match.ac.uk. Contribution Method: As described in the documents cited, we have made academic and economic contributions to the field and to companies in the markets around health. Adolescent users of medical devices are currently overlooked in the design and development of products, with their requirements neither understood nor rarely sought. Confusion and apprehension about the ethical considerations serve as a barrier to including adolescents in research and development practices. Yet including them in design may lead to better adherence and improved health outcomes. My PhD research in MATCH investigated the non-clinical user requirements of adolescent medical device users. The findings provide guidance on adolescent user requirements, and demonstrate how adolescent populations can be successfully accessed and engaged in research tasks, contributing to the fields of human factors and adolescent healthcare. This case study is the Acapella® medical device and its redesign based on adolescent requirements. This part of the PhD investigation combined the requirements of clinicians, adolescent users of the device and healthy adolescents to develop a design specification which specifically addresses adolescent needs of the Acapella®. This document was then used in a co-design study with an adolescent user to develop a visual representation of the device designed to meet adolescent needs. The triangulation of the different inputs and review by user, cystic fibrosis physiotherapist and human factors experts suggest that the suggested modifications (in the design specification document and co-design output) could be beneficial to adolescent users. Feedback from the manufacturer Smiths Medical regarding the PhD and device redesign stated that 'they are excellent examples of work on medical device human factors engineering (HFE)". This research investigation has shown that adolescents have specific needs of medical devices and that meeting these needs through user-centred methods may lead to better adherence of use and improved health outcomes. Dr Mark Varney, Research and Development Manager, Smiths Medical, noted: 'We are always interested to hear and learn of all research involving the Acapella device. The recent [publications] by Lang et al are high quality publications and excellent examples of work on medical devices in human factors engineering (HFE). HFE is a newly developing area in medical devices, of fundamental interest to Smiths Medical and vital to product registration in all countries. Personally, I have found these publications to be of great value in our own work and I believe the work of the Nottingham research teams led by Jennifer Martin, Sarah Sharples and John Crowe will be of future value.'. Beneficiaries: Smith Medical Contribution Method: Academic ethnography and field research led to much better understanding of how the product could be improved.
Sector Healthcare
Impact Types Economic
 
Description MATCH - Renewal of IMRC Award
Impact MATCH was run as an integrated programme with MATCH Plus (EP/G012393/1) and built on the work of the original MATCH grant (GR/S29874/01), all under the MATCH brand. These are fully reported in: MATCH Final report (2003-2013); MATCH Impact Report ? People Stories; MATCH Impact report ? MATCH influence on Health, industry and policy. All of these are available electronically on www.match.ac.uk. Target Audience: Government Department
 
Description MATCH - Renewal of IMRC Award
Impact The cost consequence tool is intended to be used jointly by commissioners and providers, to encourage discussion and facilitate decisions about the type and level of services being commissioned to meet service users? mental health needs. It consists of both influence diagrams and a simulation model to assess the impact of potential decisions to be analysed and discussed during the early stages. These tools were designed to enable comparison of cost-consequences that can arise from variations in the type and level of services being commissioned to meet service users? mental health needs aligned to the ?cases for change? scenarios that were developed alongside. A series of influence diagrams describing potential scenarios was developed. These scenarios cover strategies such as the consequences of reducing the number of beds and analyse the potential consequences and risks of this and the impact on other services such as community care and primary care. They are intended to demonstrate a way of thinking about the consequences of a potential decision, and are not meant to be exhaustive. In addition, a systems dynamic simulation model was developed that allowed users to change the values of certain inputs and monitor the effect over a period of 48 simulated months. Using the influence diagrams and the simulation model together provides the service commissioners and providers with a system-wide view of the impact of potential changes. This work was undertaken for the Joint Commissioning Panel for Mental Health (JCPMH). The work was a collaboration between MATCH, the University of Southampton, the Mental Health Foundation, Hampshire Commissioning Support Service, and Southern Health NHS Trust and Whole Systems Partnership. MATCH and Whole Systems Partnership were responsible for the development of the influence diagrams and the system dynamic simulation model. Target Audience: Government Department
 
Description MATCH - Renewal of IMRC Award
Impact The Modelling Algorithm Pathways in Guidelines (MAPGuide) project was set up to test the feasibility and usefulness of full pathway modelling in NICE clinical guidelines, as opposed to looking at individual questions or sub-sections of the pathway. This allows the longer-term effects of treatment decisions to be taken into account in ways that are not possible otherwise. A model was developed that covered an individual?s interaction with the healthcare system from diagnosis to death that incorporated decisions based on patient histories into the modelling, to better reflect the reality of clinical decision making. The full guideline approach provides a framework for addressing a range of cost-effectiveness questions using a consistent set of methods, assumptions and evidence, and once developed, could be reused for future guideline updates or adapted for other economic evaluations. There may also be potential benefits for general guideline development by elucidating gaps and ambiguities in the existing evidence base. The model was handed over to the National Clinical Guidelines Centre (NCGC) at the Royal College of Physicians, which has been commissioned by NICE to update the AF clinical guideline. The NCGC health economist working on the guideline has been using the model to examine the cost-effectiveness of alternative recommendations that are being considered by the multi-disciplinary Guideline Development Group (GDG). The updated guideline is due to be published for consultation with stakeholders in January 2014, and the final guideline will be published in June. Target Audience: Government Department
 
Description MATCH - Renewal of IMRC Award
Impact Mirella Marlow, of the MATCH Steering Committee and NICE, notes four important ways in which MATCH has supported the development and spread of value-based decision making in the UK and, indeed, around the world. Nice has tremendously valued the contribution from MATCH and MATCH colleagues when they were first setting up the MedTech Evaluation Programme. Moreover, several MATCH people were involved in the working groups. Discussions that have taken place that will affect future thinking include the link between technical performance and value. She noted that the danger is that a strong Health Technology Assessment methodological bias misses the more technical angle. MATCH also provides a pool of people that NICE can understand and to which it has valued access. This has resulted in a flow of ideas into NICE on an informal and sometime, unseen manner. An example is the discussion with John Crowe and the Nottingham team about the link between technical quality and value ? alluded to in (a) above. This is critically important, because the joined-up story is so important to the policy-makers. This is incredibly important to the sea change that is sweeping across the UK. NICE has recommended to companies that they use the MATCH tools. Martin Buxton and Richard Lilford have, of course, been well integrated into the NICE firmament, and are very highly regarded. A consortium from Birmingham and Brunel Universities won one of four tenders to be a NICE External Assessment Centre for devices and diagnostics. The capacity to win and execute this contract arose directly out of the MATCH collaboration. Target Audience: Government Department
 
Description EPSRC impact acceleration account via University of Nottingham
Amount £59,829 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2014 
End 09/2015
 
Description Impact Acceleration Account University of Nottingham .
Amount £89,999 (GBP)
Organisation Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 03/2016 
End 03/2017
 
Description TSB photonics for healthcare
Amount £175,000 (GBP)
Organisation Innovate UK 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 10/2013 
End 12/2014
 
Description Cumberland Initiative 
Organisation Cumberland Initiative
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution A collaboration that has flowed from the research and the partnerships of the RIGHT and MATCH projects. Cumberland is a partnership of Clinicians, companies and universities. The value will flow from changes in the healthcare system.
Collaborator Contribution Brunel has led a collaboration that has won a couple of small (<£100k) contracts to undertake improvement in healthcare processes. It has also run two Festivals of evidence, established a website (Cumberland-initiative.org) and has established a centre in Slough. Since 2013, it has moved to a subscription model, where doctors join through their fellowships at the Faculty for Medical leadership and Management, companies sign up and universities sign up. The Cumberland Initiative has run two Festivals of Evidence, a set of overnight workshops and more recently is working on providing training through 6 one-day workshops.
Impact Simulation and modelling Design Engineering Systems Engineering Medicine Healthcare provision Business
Start Year 2010
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation 3DMD
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation 3M
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2007
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation 3M
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2012
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Active4Life Heallthcare Technologies
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2007
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Adams Business Associates
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Anson Medical
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation ApaTech
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Astron Clinica
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation BITECIC Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2008
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Baxter
Department Baxter Healthcare
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Bayer
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Boston Scientific
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2005
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Cinimod Studio
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2004
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Corin Group PLC
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2005
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Datalink
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation DePuy Synthes
Country United States 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Department of Health (DH)
Department NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2006
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Depuy International
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Fertility Focus
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2011
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation GE Healthcare Limited
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2007
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
Country Global 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2012
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Health Intelligence Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2010
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Heartsine Technologies Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Intelesens Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2009
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Invest Northern Ireland
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Investment Belfast
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Kimal
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2011
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Luxfer Gas Cylinders
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2005
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation MSI Consultancy
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2004
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Matrix Lnowledge Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2007
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Matrix Lnowledge Group
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2009
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Merck
Department Merck Serono
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2011
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Monica Healthcare
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2009
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Moor Instruments Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Mölnlycke Healthcare Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation NHS England
Department NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2006
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation NHS England
Department National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Olympus
Country Global 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Orthodocs Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2004
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Oxford Biosignals Medical Limited
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Pearson Matthews
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2004
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Plus Orthopedics UK Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Qube
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2012
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Randox Laboratories
Country Global 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2010
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Renishaw Advanced Materials Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2004
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation SSL International PlC
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Sensor Technology & Devices Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2004
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Smith and Nephew
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Smiths Group PLC
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2003
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Stredia Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2010
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Translucency Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2007
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Triteq Ltd
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2006
 
Description MATCH Renewal 
Organisation Zimmer GmbH
Country Germany 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Elements of collaborations are not for public dissemination, but a spreadsheet with all details (ref: 13-0417-MATCH IMRC Collaboration data.xlsx) has been submitted to the EPSRC.
Start Year 2004
 
Description smart textile collaboration 
Organisation Footfalls and Heartbeats
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution Research initiated under MATCH in smart textiles in collaboration with Footfalls and Heartbeats has resulted in a long term collaboration and 3 follow on grants in this area. Prof Steve Morgan and colleagues within the Optics and Photonics Group contribute expertise in optical fibre sensing for healthcare and the associated instrumentation, signal processing and testing.
Collaborator Contribution Footfalls and Heartbeats provide expertise in textile manufacture and access to a number of larger commercial partners.
Impact Footfalls and Heartbeats have now invested in premises on University of Nottingham's Innovation Park to maintain this close relationship. University of Nottingham now have a collaboration agreement in place with FHL.
Start Year 2011
 
Title Trademark of MATCH logo 
Description  
IP Reference WE00001047093 
Protection Patent granted
Year Protection Granted
Licensed No
 
Title capillary refill measurement 
Description The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for measuring capillary refill time. More specifically, the invention relates to measuring capillary refill time at a foot. 
IP Reference GB1406343.2 
Protection Patent application published
Year Protection Granted 2014
Licensed Yes
Impact device under development
 
Company Name HecoAnalytics 
Description The company has developed a platform, under an Innovate UK grant to make it easier to implement some of the MATCH value-for-money calculations. It has two directors, who are being remunerated in terms of equity, as far as I understand it. Brunel set up the company. I am not a shareholder. 
Year Established 2016 
Impact Too early to say