Imperial College London - Breaking new ground in the field of medical technology

Imperial College London has a strong and thriving innovation eco-system based around a new campus anchoring the White City Innovation District in West London. In 2019/20, Imperial academic and student start-ups attracted an estimated £66 million in external investment and were supporting 1,311 jobs. 

Led by Imperial, the MedTech SuperConnector (MTSC) supports medical technology innovation and is set to work with researchers right across the UK after securing £3.44 million of funding through Research England's Connecting Capability Fund. 

Founded in 2018, the MTSC empowers researchers to translate research from the arts and sciences into early-stage medical technologies. Since its inception, participants have launched 11 new startups which received £7.24 million in grants and VC funding to develop their technologies. MTSC offers participants from eight London institutions training and resources to develop new medical devices and tools which aid patient health and well-being.  

Projects which have been backed by MTSC include work to develop smart textiles which improve limb function in stroke patients, and research into creating a robotic liner for prosthetic limbs. Participants from a range of academic backgrounds have been supported, with MTSC working with researchers at the Royal College of Music to commercialise the institution's first ever technology, a digital platform for enhancing the performance of medical practitioners.  

The new funding award from Research England will enable MTSC to expand to universities and regions across the country, supported by online training resources that are being developed in partnership with the Imperial College Business School. These plans will allow regions outside of London to benefit from MTSC's commercial understanding and expertise in the medical technology acceleration space, an area that is relatively underdeveloped compared to life sciences such as pharmaceuticals where the UK is a global leader.