Elaros: Driving Digital Health Innovation with Support from the RIEm Programme

Long-term health conditions such as long COVID and Parkinson’s disease are placing increasing demands on the NHS. Over 15 million people in the UK live with long-term conditions, accounting for 70% of NHS expenditure, highlighting the urgent need for scalable, digital-first models of care. While the need for digital solutions to empower patients and improve clinical decision-making has never been greater, MedTech innovators often face significant challenges in navigating NHS procurement processes, accessing clinical research partners and securing the funding required to develop and scale solutions.

Long-term health conditions such as long COVID and Parkinson’s disease are placing increasing demands on the NHS. Over 15 million people in the UK live with long-term conditions, accounting for 70% of NHS expenditure, highlighting the urgent need for scalable, digital-first models of care. While the need for digital solutions to empower patients and improve clinical decision-making has never been greater, MedTech innovators often face significant challenges in navigating NHS procurement processes, accessing clinical research partners and securing the funding required to develop and scale solutions.

Process

The collaboration was structured around a series of mentorship sessions, expert input and funding opportunities:

• Mentorship: With guidance from Dr David Bell, the team benefited from specialist advice on business strategy, product development and clinical validation.
• Product Development: Adam and Blesson co-developed interface prototypes, tested with patient groups at Brunel, generating positive feedback on usability and impact.
• Funding Support: Elaros secured major UK innovation funding bodies, including £200,000 Innovate UK for an early-stage project (Neu-Restore), SBRI £190,000 for a mental health clinical intervention (Adjustments by Open-OH), and NIHR funding £70,000 for an autism screening tool.

NHS Experience: Elaros leveraged its track record of successful NHS procurement, with solutions already deployed across 65+ clinics and over 1,000 users, ensuring new projects aligned with NHS requirements and NICE guidelines.

Impact

The RIEm Project helped Elaros strengthen its innovation pipeline and accelerate progress towards real-world adoption. Key outcomes included:

• Successful grant wins and funding applications supported by external feedback.
• Development of explainable AI models for Parkinson’s detection.
• Prototype testing with Brunel patient groups and plans for full trials by autumn 2025.
• Enhanced public speaking and networking opportunities through presentations and panel talks.
• A strengthened partnership between academia and business, positioning Elaros for future scaling.

Future
Looking ahead, Elaros aims to:

• Conduct full-scale clinical trials of the Parkinson’s digital tool with Brunel researchers.
• Explore European funding opportunities for scaling innovation with Brunel.
• Roll out digital health solutions across NHS settings within the next 18 months.