Outputs & Publications

This report provides an overview of a rapid horizon scan that was undertaken to help our stakeholders. We carried out a rapid review of the evidence in this area by examining clinical trial information, funding data and published evidence to better understand the landscape. There are two major types of oxygen therapeutics: haemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen […]

Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) are a group of innovative biological therapies that have the potential to revolutionise patient care and offer novel approaches for the treatment of disease and injury. Many of these therapies can be curative with a one-off treatment by targeting the root cause of diseases. They present substantial regulatory, technical and […]

Healthcare and biomedical research are a vital component of the UK science base, with a strong positive rate of return to the UK economy, with ways and means to allocate research funding considered one of the most influential elements in attempts to govern contemporary public science. The availability of research funding can embody signals about […]

Neurotechnology is a rapidly emerging field with vast economic potential.  Applications range from enhancing cognitive performance in healthy individuals to developing advanced treatments for neurological disorders. This could lead to significant cost savings in healthcare and generate new revenue streams in consumer markets. However, there are also some risks associated with neurotechnologies including potential side […]

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) within healthcare settings is revolutionising delivery of services to patients, with the use of these technologies in clinical practise expected to rise exponentially in the coming years. AI-healthcare technologies use machine learning algorithms, enabling these technologies to mimic human intelligence and perform tasks previously requiring human input. However, application […]

Quantum computing is an emerging field that has the potential to tremendously progress computation in the fields of science and technology. The publication of the National Quantum Strategy by the UK government in 2023 has catalysed interested in understanding the emerging landscape of quantum technologies in healthcare. This horizon scan provides a comprehensive overview of […]

The focus of this report is on identifying emerging (innovative, in-development) medical and digital health and care technologies, including medical devices, with the potential to reduce the occurrence of musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, improve health outcomes and provide efficiencies within delivery of health and care services for people with poor MSK conditions. It is anticipated that […]

The use of Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly expanding and evolving in the clinical practice and community care settings. AI-based healthcare technologies encompass a diverse range of technologies. In general, these technologies are designed to learn from their experiences, adapt to new inputs, and perform a variety of tasks, such as making predictions, recommendations, and […]

Living reviews are an increasingly popular research paradigm. The purpose of a ‘living’ approach is to allow rapid collation, appraisal and synthesis of evolving evidence on an important research topic, enabling timely influence on patient care and public health policy. However, living reviews are time- and resource-intensive. The accumulation of new evidence and the possibility […]

Radioligand technologies have a well-established role in the treatment of certain cancer conditions in the UK. To understand upcoming radioligand technologies in clinical development that might prove disruptive to current clinical pathways, the All Wales Molecular Radiotherapy (MRT) Strategic Programme team requested the Innovation Observatory (IO) to conduct a horizon scan to identify therapeutic radioligand […]

We performed a systematic review of diagnostic test accuracy with the objective to assess the diagnostic accuracy of non-invasive or minimally invasive autopsy techniques in deaths under 1 year of age. MEDLINE (Ovid), EMBASE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCO), the Cochrane Library, Scopus and grey literature sources were searched from inception to November 2021. Studies were included if […]

New technologies continue to revolutionise the world as we have known it. There is no reason to think that early childhood will be spared this revolution. All indications are that technology companies, families, carers, and the education sector will continue to incorporate innovation into the lives of babies and young children around the globe. And yet the topic and the […]

This report provides a summary of the horizon scan carried out to look at the indications for pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, and nivolumab that might get market approval in UK in the next few years. It presents the findings of our analysis regarding number of MInD records for each of the drugs, status of the records on […]

Current methodologies for designing search strategies rely heavily on the knowledge and expertise of information specialists. Yet, the volume and complexity of scientific literature is overwhelming for even the most experienced information specialists, making it difficult to produce robust search strategies for complex systematic reviews. In this case study, we aimed to assess and describe […]

In this paper, horizon scanning techniques were used to systematically identify health technologies related to faecal incontinence (FI) in active development using the NIHR Innovation Observatory’s ScanMedicine database. We found that most late-stage trials focused on bowel management strategies, followed by strategies related to bladder and bowel dysfunction. There was limited evidence found for new […]

This report provides a summary of the horizon scan carried out to look at the indications for pembrolizumab, atezolizumab, and nivolumab that might get market approval in UK in the next few years. It presents the findings of our analysis regarding number of MInD records for each of the drugs, status of the records on […]

Following a request from the AMR Programme Board and the AMR Diagnostic Programme Board, the Innovation Observatory sought to undertake horizon scanning activities for Respiratory Tract Infection (RTI) technologies and to identify the pipeline of development, key players, opportunities and challenges in the field. The findings of that horizon scan were summarised into the accompanying […]

The Systematic Review (SR) Toolbox was developed in 2014 to collate tools that can be used to support the systematic review process but the breadth of evidence synthesis methodologies has expanded greatly since its inception. We updated the SR Toolbox in 2022 to reflect these changes and also briefly analysed included tools and guidance to […]