Mission Possible: The role of challenge prizes in a revitalised UK Innovation Strategy
Managing Chronic Conditions Prize A £5m prize awarded to the inventor of a wearable device that can effectively manage and reduce symptoms of chronic illness through measuring biometric data Why a prize? Management of the symptoms of chronic illness (pain, fatigue, inflammation etc.) needs innovation that it can’t get from current players in the sector. The Managing Chronic Conditions Prize would incentivise tech entrepreneurs to pivot into the healthcare sector, bringing unique expertise to join that of clinical experts
Technology leadership for the UK The prize would support new directions and opportunities for the closely-related sectors of data science, IoT, hardware design and software design existing areas of technology leadership for the UK. It would also foster collaborations between existing healthcare firms and institutions with these tech firms.
already working in the space. Traditional R&D grant funding would be unlikely to attract such higher-risk innovators whereas challenge prizes are good at attracting fresh thinking and new perspectives. As well as a £5m financial reward for the best team, competing teams would receive support to work with vulnerable users, ensuring their technology is co-designed to meet the highest technical and ethical standards.
Alignment with the seven technology families of UK strength and opportunity Advanced Materials and Manufacturing AI, Digital and Advanced Computing Bioinformatics and Genomics Engineering Biology Electronics, Photonics and Quantum Energy and Environment Technologies Robotics and Smart Machines
The problem Poor management of the symptoms of chronic conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis is a widespread but under-recognised problem in the UK. For example, nearly 62 per cent of over-75s live with persistent pain, and it is widespread in all age groups. Pain affects quality of life, but it is also a burden on the economy, with many people leaving the workforce or altering their working practices. Support currently often comes in the form of medication with severe side effects.
The impact In principle, flare-ups in the symptoms of chronic illness e.g. pain and fatigue can be predicted and even
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prevented without medication, if we use biofeedback - data gathered from our own bodies - to help personalise management strategies. The Managing Chronic Conditions Prize would incentivise tech developers to work with clinical professionals to design wearable devices (such as smart watches) that gather biofeedback data that dramatically improves the quality of life of people living with these conditions.
The mission The Managing Chronic Conditions Prize could be part of a mission to double the number of years of good health enjoyed after retirement.