National Health Innovation Centre Singapore
The National Health Innovation Centre Singapore provides the publicly-funded clinical research sector of Singapore with translational funding and strategic guidance to accelerate healthcare innovation. Established in 2014, we support the development of innovative technologies and services to improve healthcare delivery and patient care. NHIC funding aims to expedite the translation of an innovation towards a market-ready product.
Our Technology Offers
Intelligent Data Input Support
This technology offer presents an Intelligent Data Input Support (IDIS) tool, an algorithm based on deep learning that automatically recognizes readings from the display of a medical device. This solution enables users, even those who do not have medical nor scientific training, to initiate the automated data entry from their own devices. It reduces errors during manual data entry and it is also useful in remote monitoring of patients.
The technology owner is currently seeking interest from partners who wish to incorporate this algorithm into their existing medical devices that capture readings via mobile applications, etc.
Innovative Finger Splint System
This technology depicts a splint system with unique mechanism and various sizes to immobilize impacted fingers. The splint system seeks to improve patient compliance by reducing adverse effects of the existing finger splinting regimen. The target users include patients, healthcare providers and health products sellers. We are seeking partnership to license the IP and bring the product to market.
A Virtual Stenting System For Clinical Decision-making and Treatment Planning in Coronary Artery Disease
Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) involving the implantation of intracoronary stents is an effective revascularization therapy to reduce ischemia in Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). However, decision for stent selection (e.g., size /type/number), implantation location and strategies are often challenging, especially when treating complex bifurcation and tandem lesions, which are prone to In-Stent Restenosis (ISR), late thrombosis and the associated adverse clinical events.
Our team has developed a system to model stenting virtually for predicting the functional status of the coronary lesions post- PCI based on non-invasive Fractional Flow -Reserve (FFR) so that the operator can review and compare different implantation strategies and their impact on coronary physiology post-PCI.
This system will enhance appropriate patient selection for invasive treatment strategy, and support an individualized stent and strategy selection, potentially transforming clinical decision-making and treatment planning in coronary artery disease.
We are interested in working collaboratively with an industry partner to license this technology for commercialization to benefit patients.
10-min COVID-19 neutralizing antibody test from a drop of blood
COVID-19 vaccination programs have been implemented worldwide to battle the pandemic and allow resuming social interactions as much as possible to the ‘normal operation’ without having to close all activities. However, recent reports reveal that vaccine effectiveness is reduced overtime. In addition, the current vaccines offer less protection against the new emerging viral variants.
Monitoring of the neutralizing antibodies (nAb) can be used to gain information about the individual protective immune status and vaccine efficacy. Monitoring of nAb in a population could help determine persons requiring booster shots, and persons who are safe to cross borders without being quarantined. However, most tests available are not specific to nAb. Tests that are specific to nAb are lab-based tests that require collection of venous blood, laboratory facilities, skilled operators, and long (1-4 hr) sample-to-result time. As such, these tests are not suitable for a large-scale monitoring.
The technology provider offers a rapid 10 min test that monitors nAb from a drop of fingertip blood. The test can be operated independently from laboratory facilities and can be used to monitor the vaccine efficacy against different viral variants. The test offers a simple solution that can be used to rapidly monitor individual nAb status at a large-scale without the need for laboratory space, highly skilled operators, or specialist to collect blood samples.
The technology provider is seeking collaborations with partners having expertise in reagent manufacturing, clinical research, and clinical testing for the deployment of this test.
Antimicrobial Nanofibres and Coatings for Healthcare
Microbial contamination is a serious problem in both medical and non-medical applications. There is an unmet need for biocompatible anti-infectives to prevent and eradicate microbial colonization of both live and dead surfaces. This technology offers a tangible solution to avert microbial contamination of medical devices and decrease the microbial burden in ocular and skin infections.
The technology is in relation to the production of nanofibres that are incorporated with antimicrobial actives to mitigate microbial contamination for wound dressings. The antimicrobial actives include plant extracts and polymers that can be incorporated into nanofibres or formulated as coatings to prevent microbial contamination. These actives work at a wide range of temperatures (including when refrigerated), are safe at treating topical fungal infections and can combine with biocompatible agents for the preparation wound dressings and coatings. Such materials are also useful to prevent food contamination, preparation of anti-infective face masks and personal protective equipment.
The company is seeking for partners to develop this technology for therapeutics as well as anti-infective coatings for both medical and non-medical applications.
Disposable Vein Finder
Venepuncture is challenging in patients with conditions that cause difficulties in locating their veins (e.g., Renal failure, obesity, intra-venous drug use, and elderly patients). Multiple unsuccessful venepuncture attempts cause pain, delays in clinical investigations and treatment. The technology offer presents a vein finder device that aims to help procedurists locate the patients’ vein easily and reduce the number of attempts and duration needed to obtain venous access in difficult cases. This technology offer is looking for collaborators who are willing to commercialise this technology into the market.
Beverages For Dysphagic Patients
Patients with dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing, who require thickened fluids to ensure safe ingestion, are frequently dehydrated due to issues of palatability of thickened fluids as well as availability. Patients are usually dependent on nursing staff or trained caregivers to prepare thickened fluids on the spot. In the community, people with dysphagia struggle to comply with Speech Therapist’s recommendations due to ‘extra step’ needed to prepare thickened beverages, hence compromising their safety when drinking non-thickened beverages.
Locally flavoured pre-thickened beverages have been developed to appeal to the local population and improve accessibility in the community. These beverages are available in four flavours including Sugar Cane & Barley, Water Chestnut, Milk Tea and Kopi-O. To align with the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI), each of these four flavors have been developed to the IDDSI level 2 and 3 standards.
This innovation centre is keen to license their know-how to a production partner that can adapt these prototypes and mass-manufacture the product to a commercially safe standard in a user-friendly packaging that is shelf-stable. It is envisioned that this beverage product should be made accessible to patients in the hospital and to people in the community (e.g. food courts, vending machines, etc.)
