UK space technologies to boost NHS Coronavirus response
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A new drive to fund space-enabled technology and services that can
strengthen the NHS response to coronavirus has been launched today
by the UK Space Agency. The UK space industry has some of the
brightest minds in the country and is well placed to support the
unprecedented national effort to overcome the biggest threat the UK
has faced for decades....Request free
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A new drive to fund space-enabled technology and services that can strengthen the NHS response to coronavirus has been launched today by the UK Space Agency. The UK space industry has some of the brightest minds in the country and is well placed to support the unprecedented national effort to overcome the biggest threat the UK has faced for decades. Satellite data and drone technology can help meet challenges such as delivering test kits, masks, gowns and goggles, managing infectious disease outbreaks and supporting the health and wellbeing of the nation. An initial £2.6 million is being made available to fund a number of projects to develop hi-tech solutions to these challenges, in a joint initiative with the European Space Agency (ESA) in support of NHS England. The NHS – like any health service around the world – only has a limited number of doctors, nurses, and specialist equipment. In addition to lifting capacity of the NHS and asking everyone to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus, the Government has called on industry and the UK’s world-leading universities to back the national effort, developing technology and equipment – from hand sanitiser to ventilators – to support the NHS. Science Minister Amanda Solloway said:
Professor Tony Young, the NHS national clinical lead for innovation, said:
The space-enabled solutions could include satellite communications, satellite navigation, Earth observation satellites or technology derived from human spaceflight. The UK continues to be a leading member of ESA, which is independent of the EU, having committed a record investment of £374 million per year in November 2019. This funding to support the coronavirus response comes from ESA’s Business Applications Space Solutions fund, which the UK is the leading investor in. Nick Appleyard, Head of Downstream Business Applications at ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications in Oxfordshire, said:
Space is already playing an important part in healthcare. UK start-up company Lanterne recently announced a free app to help people observe social distancing to slow the spread of coronavirus, using GPS satellite data and AI technologies. Last year the UK Space Agency provided £5 million for new health technologies inspired by working in space to support NHS England. These included providing real-time diagnosis of bowel cancer, developing more compact 3D X-ray machines and a mobile app that provided exercise plans free from air pollution for those with medical conditions such as asthma. Meanwhile the UK Space Agency’s International Partnership Programme uses UK expertise to support healthcare projects all over the world, including forecasting and providing early warning of dengue fever outbreaks in Vietnam through Earth observation satellites and using telecommunications to extend the reach of basic medical healthcare into remote areas in Nigeria. The UK Space Agency and UKspace trade body are also working together to help the space sector respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The UK space sector employs 42,000 people and generates an income of £14.8 billion each year, while supporting £300 billion of wider economic activity through other industries with satellite services such as navigation, communications and Earth observation. Find out more and apply for funding Notes to editors:The funding is for projects which will address at least one of the following:
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