The NIHR Trauma Management MedTech Co-operative (Trauma MIC) officially launched on Wednesday 7 February with an all-day event at the Institute of Translational Medicine (ITM), based on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham (QEHB) site.
The Trauma MIC, formerly known as the NIHR Trauma Management Healthcare Technology Co-operative (HTC) from 2012 to 2017, will continue to facilitate innovation in the medical technologies sector for trauma patients.
The launch event featured a variety of speakers and was attended by representatives from industry, the NIHR, local NHS Trusts, charities, and members of the public.
The event highlighted the important role patient and public involvement (PPI) has within research with a lively panel discussion featuring a patient representative. The Trauma MIC is intending to set up a PPI group in the near future, which will directly influence Trauma MIC’s projects and provide useful non-clinical perspectives.
The Trauma MIC’s Clinical Director, Dr Tom Clutton-Brock, from the University of the Birmingham, said: “We’re very pleased that we can build on our successes as a HTC, and can continue to offer usability, regulatory and clinical trials support to industry. We have streamlined our clinical themes, strengthened our PPI team, and are looking forward to another five successful years.”
The Trauma MIC will work closely with the new Medical Devices Testing and Evaluation Centre (MD-TEC), also based in the ITM, which houses state-of-the-art laboratories and purpose-built replicas of clinical areas such as a ward bay and an operating theatre. MD-TEC is funded through the European Regional Development Fund.
The ITM was delivered through Birmingham Health Partners, an alliance between University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (which operates QEHB), Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of Birmingham.