THE University of Bradford will be part of a multi million pound project to help turn new medical inventions into day to day objects.

Over £10 million is being spent on the Grow MedTech partnership, which will attempt to build on the medical expertise in Yorkshire.

Bradford is one of six northern universities involved in the project, led by the University of Leeds and set up to address issues that can block the process of bringing inventions from conception to clinical use.

The three year project also include the local enterprise partnerships serving Leeds and Sheffield City Regions, the National Institute of Health Research organisations, councils and chambers of commerce.

It will use the universities existing facilities, as well as Bradford’s Digital Health Enterprise Zone in Little Germany.

It is part-funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England, which has contributed just under £5million. The remainder of the funding is provided by the partner organisations. It will back researchers and developers in their work to take new products through the early stages of commercial development It is expected that the partnership will bring around 20 “potentially life-enhancing” devices into everyday use over the next three years.

The work will include taking the business risk out of new products, and make it easier for investors to see their commercial potential.

Professor John Bridgeman, Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research and Knowledge Transfer) said: “We warmly welcome Research England’s support for connecting our distinctive strengths in research, development and innovation with those of our partners in Leeds, Huddersfield, Sheffield and York and we are greatly looking forward to participating in the Grow Med Tech consortium.

“We share common cause: to accelerate and maximise the benefits of innovation in health, care and medical technology for citizens in our region and across the world, and for companies across Yorkshire.

“This project is a great example of how collaboration between Yorkshire’s universities, including, for example, Bradford’s Digital Health Enterprise Zone, can offer improved health standards for everyone at the same time as boosting local jobs and economic growth.”

The funding will help Bradford connect expertise in health services research, end-of-life care, digital health, medical engineering and innovation management to the Yorkshire-wide consortium of universities with the objective of boosting the impact of university research into medical technology on patient wellbeing.