Lungs

New innovation aiding lung recovery set to be launched in West Midlands

The West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) are helping launch a new healthcare innovation, which will help those recovering from lung surgery or suffering from a collapsed lung.

The new advancement, called Thopaz+, comes in the form of a “portable, digital chest drainage and monitoring system” which enables the patient to be managed and monitored via digital readings – ultimately supporting recovery and reducing hospital time.

The technology has been developed by NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Accelerated Access Collaborative and via the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy.

Dr Joseph Robinson, WMAHSN Innovation Project Manager and AHSN National Lead for Thopaz+, said: “Thopaz+ is a fantastic healthcare innovation that we are pleased to be supporting as part of the MedTech Funding Mandate Policy.

“Being digital and portable, the device aids clinical decision making with objective data, and it has also been demonstrated as cost-saving by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. It will bring numerous benefits to both NHS staff and patients, and we hope to support equitable patient access across the West Midlands and nationally.”

Whilst recovering from lung surgery or when experiencing a collapsed lung, patients can often be fitted with a chest drain to remove any air or fluid in the chest cavity. This type of treatment requires an underwater seal chamber and subjective methods to monitor patient progress.

Thopaz+ however, expedites the current industry-standard process by digitally displaying readings such as the patient’s rate of air leak and fluid drainage, in turn allowing clinicians to make decisions for the individual – subsequently improving patient safety and providing a more cost-effective solution.

The device is also portable, as aforementioned, meaning patients can be more mobile during their recovery, improving their quality of life and aiding the recovery itself.

More information about this new innovation and how WMAHSN are supporting it is available here.

Jan/Feb

NHE January/February 2024

Boosting NHS productivity demands a healthy dose of realism

Dive into our latest edition for January/February!

Videos...

View all videos
Online Conference

Presenting

2024 Online Conferences

In partnership with our community of health sector leaders responsible for delivering the UK's health strategy across the NHS and the wider health sector, we’ve devised a collaborative calendar of conferences and events for industry leaders to listen, learn and collaborate through engaging and immersive conversation. 

All our conferences are CPD accredited, which means you can gain points to advance your career by attending our online conferences. Also, the contents are available on demand so you can re-watch at your convenience.

National Health Executive Podcast

Ep 41. The truth about drones in the NHS

In episode 41 of the National Health Executive podcast, we were joined by Dr Angela Smith, research fellow at Bournemouth University, and Andy Oakey, research fellow at the University of Southampton, to discuss the viability of drones within the NHS transport system.

More articles...

View all