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The National Institute for Health and Care Research HealthTech Research Centre in Devices, Digital and Robotics (NIHR HRC-DDR) is one of fourteen HealthTech Research Centres (HRCs) in the UK. The NIHR funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research to improve people’s health and wellbeing and promote economic growth.  The HRCs are funded to support safe, effective and efficient translation of new healthcare technologies into routine care for NHS patients and follow-on social care. 

The NIHR HRC-DDR is part of the NIHR and hosted by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB). The remit of the NIHR HRC-DDR is to improve efficiencies, and rate of success, of HealthTech uptake into health and social care. The NIHR HRC-DDR will provide a national service, supporting partners through the innovation ecosystem. We link with expert academics and clinicians within our partner organisations and infrastructures, generating evidence to support uptake and adoption.

Circular diagram representing the HRC DDR. The diagram is divided into three inner sections with HRC DDR at the centre. The second layer is labelled Medical Devices, Robotics & Autonomous Systems, and Digital & Data. Surrounding this is a third layer with various elements such as Regulations; Health Economics & Value Proposition, Human Factors & Usability Testing; Sustainability; Training; Equality, Diversity & Inclusion; and Patient and Public Involvement. The outer layer is labelled HealthTech Pathway and is an arrow going around the circle diagram in a clockwise direction. The image includes icons representing each element within the layers.

The NIHR HRC-DDR will play a key role in identifying unmet needs, supporting prioritised technologies, and generating evidence across Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), to support the evidence required for regulatory approval and adoption. We will continue to improve the knowledge and expertise surrounding medical device development and regulations and provide specialised support for digital and data-driven solutions. Our strategies, programme and project work will be informed by patients and the public and will align with national strategies for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and sustainability.

Our core themes of Medical Devices, Digital & Data, Robots & Autonomous Systems, and cross-cutting themes of Human Factors & Usability, Health Economics & Value Proposition, and Regulations, cover the major areas of unmet need in the translation of health and social care technologies. You can find out more about our research here.

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