The UCL spinouts can help power the NHS’s 10-Year Vision

The NHS’s newly launched 10-Year Health Plan, Fit for the Future, sets out a bold transformation of England’s healthcare system. Many innovative UCLB spinouts are already helping make this vision a reality. 

Centred on three pillars: ‘Analogue to Digital’, ‘Sickness to Prevention’, and ‘Hospital to Community’, the plan calls for a reimagining of care delivery. Here’s how UCLB’s spinouts are poised to help… 

Analogue to Digital: Smarter, faster, more personalised care 

The shift from analogue systems to digital-first healthcare is already underway. CogStack is at the forefront, using natural language processing to turn unstructured patient records into actionable insights. This huge amount of information could help tailor treatments more accurately for individual patients, offering better and safer healthcare.  

Developed by researchers at the NIHR Maudsley BRC and King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust BRC, CogStack enables clinicians to assess disease progression and identify at-risk patients more efficiently.  

Meanwhile, WellSpring, a digital health platform from UCL Institute of Women’s Health, is empowering women to take control of their reproductive health. This immersive, interactive and scalable resource provides accurate, up-to-date and evidence-based information about procedures and processes in women’s health.   

Sickness to Prevention: Diagnosing earlier, intervening smarter 

NHS strategy emphasises the need to avoid serious illnesses, with early diagnosis being key. Spun out of research at the UCL Wellcome / EPSRC Centre for Interventional Surgical Sciences and the department of Computer Science, Odin Vision, an award-winning AI endoscopy platform, enhances early detection of gastrointestinal cancers, improving outcomes and reducing treatment costs.  

On the social innovation front, TrimTots, a UCLB Social Venture from UCL’s Institute of Child Health, delivers the UK’s only evidence-based obesity prevention programme for preschool children. Already active in 11 communities, it’s helping families build healthier habits from the start. 

Hospital to Community: Bringing care closer to home 

The Plan envisions a future where care is delivered closer to where people live. Endomag, a UCL spinout, is making this possible in breast cancer treatment. Its magnetic detection technology eliminates the need for radioactive tracers, enabling procedures to be carried out in local clinics rather than specialist hospital centres. This not only improves access but also reduces patient travel and NHS costs. 

Looking to the future 

As the 10-Year Plan unfolds, these spinouts will help build a more effective health service, proving the vital role that university research plays in innovation.  

The journey from the lab to the market is complex. UCLB helps bridge the gap between academia and industry, ensuring that research findings are transformed into viable products and services that can benefit society.  

Arguably one of the biggest challenges the NHS faces in it’s transformation is how it improves procurement processes which is crucial if these innovations and technologies are to be integrated into the healthcare system, ensuring that patients benefit from the latest advancements as quickly as possible.  

By fostering collaboration between academic researchers, industry partners, and healthcare providers, the technology transfer system led by UCLB and others is creating an environment where innovation thrives and the NHS can deliver on its ambitious vision.