The Department of Women’s and Children’s Health has been awarded funding of £321,015 for the development of a new device to manage postpartum haemorrhage (PPH).
The project is being funded by National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme who recognise the potential use within the NHS.
Professor Andrew Weeks from the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health will lead a multi-disciplinary team that includes, Dr Carol Porter, Research Manager, Professor Tony Fisher, Consultant Clinical Physicist at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Professor Dame Tina Lavender from the Midwifery Department at the University of Manchester, and John Porter, an industrial physicist at Electronic Supplies Ltd.
The team will also work with a medical engineer, a research midwife, a PhD student and a clinical ethicist.
Professor Andrew Weeks said: “We think this device will make a real difference to women’s health care. Bleeding after delivery is a major cause of death in poorer parts of the world, and this device could prevent many of them. It will also provide a rapid way of stopping postpartum bleeding in the UK.
As a project team, we’ve received fantastic support from Impact Science and the team at Business Gateway, who have guided us through the commercialisation process and helped ensure the intellectual property is protected.”
Professor Weeks is an expert in medical design, and has developed a number of novel obstetric technologies to improve maternal health in the UK and in developing countries (by wallace at dhead support). His previous inventions include an award-winning newborn resuscitation trolley. He recently won the University’s Excelling at Innovation Award.
Chris Unsworth, Intellectual Property Manager, added: “This is a wonderful example of how collaboration between doctors, university researchers, engineers and industry to make real change. It shows the University of Liverpool at the forefront of the UK’s health care innovations.”