It was announced on Thursday 5 September 2002 by the DTI, EPSRC and BBSRC that TWI has been awarded a Faraday Partnership - the second such project for this organisation - concerning research, training, technology and commercialisation of medical devices.
TWI is joined by three key medical device technology transfer organisations: E-Tech, M4 Technologies and the Medilink network as Core Partners. They are supported by a team of six British universities: Cambridge, Nottingham, Leeds, Queen Mary, Sheffield and Strathclyde.
The Partnership mission is to 'provide the national infrastructure to facilitate the development and commercialisation of medical devices and biomaterials for new and improved patient treatment and increased competitiveness for UK healthcare industries'.
This will be achieved by a programme of clinician and industry focused research, effective training programmes for post-graduates and students as well as major technology translation support direct to industry.
Medical devices, in the scope of this Partnership, encompass all devices which are implantable, semi-implantable, permanent or disposable, and act in some way on the human body. This includes medical disciplines ranging from orthotics, orthopaedics and ophthalmics, to cardiovascular, urology and dentistry. The prime focus is on capturing know-how and IP and exploiting this knowledge to the benefit of the UK, from both a financial and healthcare viewpoint.
More information about the Medical Devices Faraday Partnership and how you might participate, from Sue Dunkerton, Partnership Director, sue.dunkerton@twi.co.uk or Dr Mehdi Tavakoli, Programme Manager, mehdi.tavakoli@twi.co.uk at TWI.
