Trial of innovative digital infection control solution in Manchester NHS FT ICU

Our innovative solution is designed to prevent Healthcare Acquired Infections (HCAIs) from spreading around hospitals. The objective of this project is to investigate the solution in the ICU in the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) -- our collaboration partner. This will enable us to develop the solution, certify it and then market it to healthcare customers in the UK and internationally, and create a world-leading company.

The solution is based on the concept of digital contact tracing. The aim is to find people infected with a pathogen before they become infectious and spread it to a new host. Without a new host, a pathogen cannot prosper. Our solution exploits wearable technology and is fast, accurate and capable of tackling any communicable pathogen found in a hospital.

The benefits of such a project for the NHS are large. 20% of NHS beds are occupied by patients who are overstaying due to HCAIs, and the annual direct treatment costs for these people is £2.8 billion. HCAIs cause 22,000 patient deaths per year (not including Covid-19). If the project is successful, the resulting product could increase NHS capacity by 5-10% whilst saving £1 billion-plus in direct treatment costs. The potential developed world healthcare market is huge (approx. £3 billion).

Proxximos has built a prototype in a factory and has secured investment from a Cambridge life sciences VC, and has secured a place in the Knowledge Quarter Labs Accelerator, run by the Francis Crick Institute. With Innovate UK help, we would like to embark on the journey of developing this medical product and commercialising it for healthcare markets in the UK and internationally.