What Impact did the ECME Centre Have?
The ECME Programme has used a number of vectors to measure the impact of the project across the INTERREG VA eligible area.
This impact included 103 cross border, peer-reviewed publications; the completion of 24 PhDs, which included an enhanced doctoral training programme to create Future Leaders of Tomorrow, many of whom have taken that knowledge and expertise successfully into industry, academia, and government; the successful delivery of the Mini Projects which directed €300,000 worth of direct financial support to industry creating an economic multiplier of 6. Alongside this a range of technical and regulatory training was provided for more than 20 medtech enterprises of all sizes across the INTERREG VA area.
Impact from research is described as “the demonstrable contribution that excellent research makes to society and the economy” (UK Research and Innovation definition) and further as, “the effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia” (Research England definition for Research Excellence Framework – REF).
Primary research impacts include 103 peer reviewed publications across leading peer reviewed and high-impact scientific journals in Europe and the US. This contribution to the scientific literature creates lasting impact for our partner institutions by generating further research income and enhancing the academic stature of the institution, encouraging future generations of students.
For the individual researchers involved publications will help to enhance their careers and develop networks within their scientific discipline thus furthering knowledge and discovery beyond the conclusion of the programme. These publications create secondary impacts across clinical, business, and healthcare policy vectors as new scientific theory, methods and techniques are developed that will lead to new clinical protocols, new products for our med-tech exporting companies and new policy imperatives for government around healthcare especially cardiac care.
ECME lead researchers regularly brief government on policy and some, including our clinical students, were involved in national initiatives around COVID-19 response including on the NHS front line and through large scale data analysis projects the centre was involved in. These involvements by ECME were covered by local media.
These papers were co-authored by the 24 PhD students funded under the ECME programme. These students will graduate from the programme and go into industry, research, government and healthcare as future leaders and the programme as sought to enhance their skill-set and potential impact beyond their scientific discipline though our Doctoral Training College.
All academic, clinical , industry partners along with other stakeholders involved in the ECME Programme reported strong impact on their institution as a whole, including economically, as a civic institution and as a learning provider. What follows is a snap-shot of some these impact activities.
Summary of ECME Output Indicators
ECME 2020 Academic Conference
The ECME Academic Conference was held online on Tuesday 15th December 2020. This was an opportunity for the ECME PhD students to present their findings to colleagues and the broader academic and industrial community. Twenty-five papers were presented in total with the Keynote delivered by Prof. Jim McLaughlin, the ECME lead PI from Ulster University.
The award for best paper at the conference went to Karen Hughes from the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) for her paper – AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF HOME IN A PANDEMIC (Authors: Hughes, K1 Diaz, J2 Grindle, M1 Sheng, Y21University of the Highlands and Islands. 2Dundalk Institute of Technology). Click link below to view Karen Hughes’ presentation.
The full ECME 2020 conference proceedings can be found here: https://www.ecme-research.com/ecme-2020-academic-conference-proceedings/
ECME Direct Support to Industry
The ECME Programme had two primary mechanisms for working with industrial partners. Firstly, through non-direct financial support in the form of training, expert advice, student placements and access to equipment etc. By enhancing the expertise of local companies through our workshops on Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Big Data Management, Communications and User Centric Design ECME have created real impact across more than 30 companies who have availed of these free courses and initiatives.
Secondly, Direct Financial Support (Grants) were delivered through our Mini Projects. ECME awarded nine companies a total of £300,000 in grants focused on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic through new products, software and services. Some projects including PPE and new diagnostic kits came to market quickly and allowed these companies to expand their export operations, impacting immediately upon revenues and pandemic response. And one of our industrial partners, Belfast based 42 Genetics, was also able to use the ECME funding as a springboard into further research funding totalling £400K.
And as these new products, technologies and policies roll out then the impact across patients dealing with pre and post cardiac conditions and rehabilitation and elderly patients living independent lives through the use of technology, will be lasting and profound. CVD disease remains one of the main causes of death and disability across the eligible region, and indeed worldwide, and ECME has made a lasting contribution to mitigating the terrible consequences of this disease through an innovative mix of research, industry support and clinical focus.
Impact of the ECME Mini Projects on Industry
42 Genetics were able to use their grant as a springboard into further research funding totalling £700K from Innovate UK. The company also believes it will now become revenue positive with sales for 2021 expected to reach £500K.
ANAEKO have already secured new contracts worth £75,000 and have submitted bids for new business worth £250,000.
Ad-vance Engineering were able to rapidly bring a range of PPE visors to market and are supplying facilities across the UK and exploring export opportunities to Canada. During the lock down period all of the companies’ resources have been utilised in the design and manufacture of these tools. This secured jobs with no employees being furloughed during that time due to the development of the new TPE head band which was injection-moulded. This is the only moulded head band on the market at the time and it also achieved CE Approval.
S2ACK: The support from ECME allowed S2ACK to significantly expedite the design and development phases planned for their NeedlePoint system. Although no direct impact in revenue as of yet, S2ACK hope to be able continue refining the system and to the point that they can achieve certification for use on the human body.
Pulse AI: As part of its project PulseAI delivered a patch-based ECG device which can be used with an Android smartphone to automatically monitor the QTc interval from the ECG remotely, allowing for continuous monitoring of COVID-19 patients for the early signs of drug induced sudden cardiac risk. The project has allowed the company to rapidly develop a remote monitoring platform around their AI-ECG algorithms. This has increased the company’s profile both locally and internationally and has attracted clinical partners and potential customers from the US and Europe.
ProAxsis, who used their ECME funding in developed an assay for detection of the biomarker Cathepsin in COVID-19 patients, have used that experience to become part of one of only two consortia from Northern Ireland to be selected for the next stage of the UK Research and Innovation’s Strength in Places Fund (SIPF). The project was awarded seed-corn funding of up to £50,000.
Biopanda Reagents used the Mini Projects funding to develop an extension to their line of LFA rapid test kits for COVID-19 antigens. Their new device will use gold nano-shells instead of colloidal gold to improve the detection limit for the S protein. The product is currently undergoing clinical trials.
ECME and COVID-19 Response
The ECME project is improving healthcare pathways for cardiac related health conditions by carrying out fundamental research and developing commercially focused platform technologies. Project researchers are currently utilising advancements in technology to revolutionise healthcare delivery, reduce the time spent in hospitals, and support older people in their own home and community safely, independently and comfortably.
The project’s lead partner, Ulster University, recently joined the COVID-19 Antibody Test Consortium. As a leading medical research centre ECME, and its staff across the UK, found themselves playing a pivotal role in the national response to the pandemic. Working on the front line directly with patients, professors, researchers and students answered the call to join the UK Government’s Rapid Test Consortium. They are assisting with developing antibody tests for COVID-19 and are also involved in modelling of various aspects of COVID’s spread and impact. Several ECME researchers are also working in clinical settings during the COVID.
In the Republic ECME PhD Student Denise Burtenshaw who was studying at Dublin City University at the time, joined the COVID-19 PCR testing labs at Enfer labs in Naas, Kildare. In April 2020 the project launched the ECME COVID-19 Mini Projects, receiving a large volume of applications from right across the UK. ECME invited proposals that aligned with the challenge areas identified by the World Health Organisation, including the provision of PPE equipment and the supply of rapid diagnostic kits.
In total ECME funded nine industry-led projects ranging from the development of much needed PPE and COVID-19 diagnostic tests, to Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms and new genetics repositories to allow researchers and scientists to more quickly access genetic data related to COVID-19 and other rare diseases and viral infections. The impact this funding had on our industry partners is detailed below.
ECME Multiplier
The multiplier effect is an economic concept that describes how an increase in spending can lead to a larger change in GDP (or other measure) than the amount spent. The multiplier effect can be applied to research and development (R&D) in a number of ways.
(i) Increased R&D spending can lead to more research: Increased R&D spending can encourage research efforts to produce new knowledge and technology.
(ii) R&D spending can have a trickle-down effect: Increased R&D spending in one country or sector can have an effect on other sectors and countries.
(iii) R&D spending can lead to knowledge sharing: R&D outputs can be shared through scientific journals, which can affect societies and economies.
(iv) R&D spending can improve well-being: Increased R&D spending can lead to research that improves well-being through innovation.
So, multipliers capture the idea that a change in spending in one part of the economy can have a knock-on effect on other parts of the economy. Our analysis of the relevant data suggests an economic multiplier of 6 times, with over £60M of impact based on increased sales and jobs.
ECME Future Leaders of Tomorrow
ECME’s ambition was very much to Create Future Leaders by the offering of an enhanced PhD programme which exposed researchers to a range of technical and non-technical training experiences. The goal was that all individuals who participated in the programme will learn new skills and develop enhanced capabilities and relationships by the end of the project.
Twenty two students completed their PhDs during the ECME Programme. They went on to start careers in a variety of industrial, clinical, academic and policy related positions that reflect the levels of excellence reached by all our students across Ireland and Scotland and how in-demand they were.
For instance Dr Kathryn Owen is now the
Elsewhere, Catherine Hegarty who also completed the ICURe Programme whilst studying for her PhD, has joined Dow Jones listed global biotech firm, Amgen. Closer to home and Ulster University were delighted to welcome ECME Graduate Idongesit Ekerete as a lecturer in the School of Computing. And in Dublin UCD graduate Ranul Thantilage has joined the University as Cyber Analyst at the Centre for Cybersecurity and Cybercrime Investigation. This is just a snapshot of the career paths of some of the twenty-two ECME graduates, all of whom have very much taken their place as Future Leaders.
Leverage for Future Funding Streams
The ECME Programme proved to be the catalyst for a series of successfully funding applications across the partnership. Large funding has been leveraged including the £43M CDHT City Deal; the £11M EPSRC CDT (UCL &UU) and the £2.5M EPSRC PBIAA Digital Health Technology Accelerator. All this is the basis for a strong MedTech Eco system that is growing rapidly across the region.
Centre for Digital Healthcare Technology (Ulster University): CDHT is a project which will accelerate a dynamic and productive open innovation ecosystem for the development of innovative medical technology devices and diagnostics. It will transform the innovation pathway and will encourage a faster, more productive and more successful rate of commercialisation for new products by co-locating academic and clinical researchers alongside industry. In addition, it will provide both a community living lab based in the main CDHT building adjacent to the new Ulster University Belfast campus and a clinical innovation living lab based at the Royal Victoria Hospital site. Total Investment: £40m
Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Health Technologies (Ulster University and University College London): Ulster University has partnered with University College London to secure funding from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to establish a Centre for Doctoral Training in Digital Health Technologies. Recruiting 75 PhD researchers, the £11.7 m Centre will train the next generation of digital health researchers and innovators who will develop and advance the future state of digital health technologies. Forming part of the UK’s biggest ever investment in engineering and physical sciences doctoral skills at a total of £1 billion, the Ulster University-UCL partnership is one of sixty-five Centres for Doctoral Training.
ECME Partners have continued to prepare successful bids for range of other funders including; Invest NI, EPSRC, SEUPB, and Belfast City Council.