INSIGHTS / News

SETsquared Exeter member Brain in Hand has recently won an SBRI Healthcare Award which will help assist their ambition to revolutionise support services for autistic people in the UK.

Brain in Hand has been granted a Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) award. SBRI Healthcare is an NHS England & NHS Improvement funded initiative that provides investment to innovators to develop solutions that solve existing unmet needs faced by the NHS. The programme aims to improve patient care, increase efficiency in the NHS, and support the UK economy.

This injection of funding will allow Brain in Hand to work with NHS Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group, NHS North Kirklees Clinical Commissioning Group, and the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to test and develop a system-wide approach for broader national deployment in health and social care. Brain in Hand will also undertake an observational study to demonstrate the system’s effectiveness. This will support the commercial spread and adoption of the system.

Brain in Hand aims to transform the model of care for autistic people who are supported by the NHS and social care to help them live more independently. The Brain in Hand system, which puts people in control of their own care while involving carers and supporters, provides a practical digital solution for the delivery of personalised care.

The Brain in Hand system currently operates across 40 different locations in the United Kingdom. Typically, projects are situated within local authority transition teams or adult social care. Brain in Hand is approved by the Department for Education as a tool for supporting students through higher education. Thousands of autistic students are using Brain in Hand, with at least one in almost every university in the UK.

Dr Louise Morpeth, CEO of Brain in Hand said: “We are delighted by this SBRI award and the very encouraging comments of the reviewers of our application,” “The award will fund invaluable research and development work to test and improve our digital support solution. This shows there is appetite for a scalable, holistic support system to help autistic people live more independently. This work will also show the potential of Brain in Hand for people with learning disabilities and those living with anxiety-related mental health conditions. We are very much looking forward to the journey ahead.”