Given how inspiring it is to see all the good that’s being done in the South West with health tech, we thought you may want to know how to get involved in this thriving field yourself. If you have an idea or two of your own here are some helpful hints, tips and places to go to seek support and networks to help make your innovative heath tech startup a reality:
Assisted Living Action Network (ALAN)
ALAN is a platform for businesses, healthcare professionals, service user groups and academic researchers to stimulate the development of innovative assisted living products and services in the South West.
Membership is free and its next meetup is due to be held in June with a focus on prosthetics and orthotics.
Read about their last event which explored video technologies supporting health and wellbeing.
West of England Academic Health Science Network – @WEAHSN
Funded by NHS England and the West of England healthcare organisations, the West of England Academic Health Science Network brings together our health service community, industry, higher education, research bodies, patients and the wider public to work in partnership and take patient care and experience to new levels.
Most recently they organised a free public event called ‘Healthcare from your Living Room’, allowing attendees to learn about the future of assistive tech and IoT beds.
HealthTech Women have created a rapidly growing network for women in healthcare tech with international reach.
With its Bristol group launched in September 2016, the meetup now offers those from the South West to regularly network with other like-minded people, hear from expert panels and connect with the transformational work being delivered across health and social care using tech.
- You may like: HealthTech Women UK to launch in Bristol this month
HBB Healthcare Technology SIG – @hbb_cic
High Tech Bristol & Bath CIC (HBB) is a community of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) delivering shared goals and visions.
One of these is the Healthcare Technology SIG for those looking for cross-over opportunities, collaborations and to share innovations and ideas on health tech.
Members of the Healthcare Technology SIG are also able to attend workshops to share knowledge and develop action plans to stop ideas being left to disintegrate.
- You may like: Profile: High Tech Bristol and Bath – here to make innovative tech and engineering ideas happen in the South West
TechSPARK Bristol – @TechSPARKuk
Following the unprecedented popularity of TechSPARK’s techie brekkie meetup on health tech – where members of the local tech and digital came together for a morning discussion about the future potential for health tech – a regular monthly networking brekkie was set up.
‘Brekkie Meet : LifeSciences & Healthtech Sector’ runs on the last Wednesday of every month (sign up for tomorrow’s here) – usually (but not always) at the Bristol Energy Hub – for anyone with an interest in life sciences; including areas such as health tech, bioengineering, genetics, bio-sensing, med tech, diagnostics and more.
Have we missed any health tech organisations people should know about? Tell us about it. Also, don’t miss our Healthtech Techie Brekkie this Wednesday. You can also stay up to date with the latest South West tech news, events and more by subscribing to the TechSPARK newsletter or following us on Twitter here: @TechSPARKuk
- You may like: 11 ways South West health tech is improving lives
