Key industry partners in healthcare and innovation came together last week at Alder Hey’s Innovation Conference, to showcase how the Trust and the wider Liverpool City Region are fast becoming a hub for child health innovation.
The two-day event formed part of a wider celebration marking 10 years of innovation at Alder Hey’s new hospital, which officially opened in 2016, recognising a decade of pioneering work in developing and implementing technologies that can improve health outcomes for children and young people.
Bringing together international innovators, healthcare organisations, designers and engineers, local SMEs and voluntary sector representatives, the conference provided a platform to showcase cutting-edge developments in paediatric healthcare, explore new opportunities for partnership working and inspire future innovators.
Central to the event was highlighting the Paediatric Open Innovation Zone (POIZ), a programme led by Alder Hey and funded with more than £4m from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority’s Innovation Zone Programme.
POIZ is designed to establish the region as a global leader in children’s healthcare technology by connecting clinicians, researchers, industry and entrepreneurs to co-develop innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in child health. POIZ’s ambition is to support the testing and scaling of new technologies ranging from artificial intelligence applications to advanced digital health tools that can transform care for children and young people.
Mayor of Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram was invited to speak about the Liverpool City Region Innovation Zone (LCR Innovation Zone), an initiative designed to accelerate innovation, research and commercial growth across key sectors in the Liverpool City Region.
Mayor Rotheram said:
“Alder Hey has spent the last decade showing how innovation can make a real difference to children’s lives, not just here in our region, but far beyond it. And it’s not just world-class care, it’s a constant drive to find better ways of doing things to give young people the best possible start in life.
“Through our Innovation Zone, we’re backing that ambition – not just with funding – but by bringing together the NHS, researchers and businesses to turn great ideas into real improvements in care. The Paediatric Open Innovation Zone is a big part of that, and it will help new technologies get into the health service faster, while also creating good jobs and putting our region firmly on the map for child health innovation.”
Over the two days, attendees also participated in expert panels and interactive sessions focusing on the future of paediatric healthcare. The programme also featured discussions on artificial intelligence in healthcare, the role of open innovation in transforming paediatric services and the future development of the POIZ ecosystem. Delegates were also invited to take part in exclusive tours of Alder Hey’s innovation hub and wider hospital campus, providing a behind the scenes look at how cutting-edge technologies are developed, tested and embedded into clinical practice.
Prof Iain Hennessey, Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Director of Innovation at Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“Our Innovation Conference marks an important milestone as we celebrate ten years since we built our 1000m2 innovation hub under our new hospital. Only through imagination and pushing forward the edge of technology will be able to make a healthier future for our children and young people.”
Over the past decade, Alder Hey Innovation has led and supported a wide range of projects designed to improve care for children, young people and their families. These include point-of-care 3D printing and modelling to support clinical decision-making; practical pandemic-era solutions such as transparent masks to improve safe communication; Little Hearts at Home, a remote monitoring platform helping vulnerable cardiac patients spend more time safely at home; and the use of AI and advanced analytics to improve emergency care planning and workforce scheduling. Alder Hey’s Youth Forum has also played an important role in ensuring that children and young people help shape innovation, giving teams direct insight into what matters most to patients and families. Alongside this, Alder Hey Innovation has created a strong open-innovation ecosystem through partnerships, showcases, accelerator activity and the Paediatric Open Innovation Zone, helping bring clinicians, researchers, industry and families together to develop real-world solutions in child health.