Recipient organisationUlster UniversitySource-published name: University of Ulster
Funding£2.7M
PeriodApr 2025 — Apr 2029
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
A consortium of universities, city government, and industry partners in Belfast is building a digital health cluster to turn laboratory discoveries into working medical devices and diagnostics. This matters because Northern Ireland faces the same pressures as the rest of the UK—an ageing population, rising healthcare costs, and a shortage of skilled workers—but has a unique advantage. Recent political agreements give the region dual access to UK and EU regulatory markets, making it an attractive testbed for new medical technologies. The problem is that promising research often stalls between the lab bench and the clinic, never reaching patients or generating economic returns. The Digital Healthcare Technology Impact Accelerator (DHTA) aims to close that gap. It will push early-stage research in photonic sensing, machine learning, and medical diagnostics from low technology-readiness levels (TRL2) toward commercial prototypes (TRL5). If successful, the project could create a self-sustaining cycle: local small and medium-sized enterprises co-develop ideas with researchers, attract investment, and produce new diagnostic tools that reduce pressure on health services. The cluster is anchored by a £43 million City Deal centre and a new £11 million EPSRC doctoral training partnership. The immediate impact is economic—jobs, investment, and a stronger regional innovation ecosystem—rather than a specific new device for patients.
View original technical description
1.1 Context, the Place and Cluster The DHTA is a consortium led by a strong and highly experienced, interdisciplinary R&D&I collaborative team from UU and QUB, Belfast City Council-BCC with civic, industry and clinical partners located in the Belfast Metropolitan Area-BMA[1]. The DHTA will be at the forefront of sustainable regional digital health translation, driving through higher TRL levels from discovery-based research in the areas of medical diagnostics and associated disciplines underpinned by a health-tech stack approach, including photonic sensing to machine learning algorithms. DHTA will deliver impactful solutions as it enhances a recognised digital health cluster which is coalesced around the emerging £43M City Deal-Centre for Digital Healthcare Technology-CDHT and embrace an eco-system boosted by the new £11M EPSRC-CDT UCL-UU [EP/Y034929/1] in Digital Health. Recent Northern Ireland-NI political agreements incorporating the Windsor Framework[2], have created a positive environment to leverage both a stronger and a unique dual-trading/regulatory relationship with the significant international medical devices infrastructure of the Republic of Ireland. 1.2 The challenge DHTA addresses The DHTA, with demonstrably impressive research track-record, will address the need to accelerate digital health research impact as well as a number of global health challenges. These include the ageing-population which creates complex and varied pressures including increased demand for healthcare services; rising costs; greater prevalence of chronic diseases; greater demand for long-term care; and a shortage of skilled workers[3]. 1.3 DHTA Aims and objectives. Aims- The DHTA will focus on catalysing and leveraging the development of a cluster, focused on health diagnostics expertise derived from research excellence (TRL2-5). The cluster will strengthen R&D&I within the BMA by building partnerships with civic bodies, connecting SME's and people, co-developing ideas, attracting investment, driving growth and creating a virtuous cycle of economic acceleration.
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