Health technology projects
Centre for Health Technology
Current projects
Due to complete in 2025 or later
The Plymouth Health Determinants Research Collaboration (PHDRC)
(2022–2027) Working in partnership with Plymouth City Council, this project aims to tackle the determinants of health inequalities in Plymouth.
Radio Me
(2020–2025) RadioMe is a £2.7 million project that will use artificial intelligence to adapt and personalise live radio, with the aim of transforming the lives of people living alone with dementia.
Intergenerational Codesign of Novel technologies In Coastal communitites (ICONIC)
(2022–2025) Aiming to improve digital inclusion for both groups and help them to connect to their communities and digital activity.
The BRIDGING project
(2023–2026) A three-year project using extended reality training with autistic employees and employers to support entry and retainment within the workplace and reduce the autism employment gap.
Experiences of retired doctors-as-patients accessing their own medical records
(2025) A survey on the views of retired doctors (as patients) in the UK and Spain with comparison to practising GPs’ views on patient access to records in the UK
The Glider Project
(2024–2025) Addressing challenges in frailty through robotics, play and immersive technology.
Towards a new coastal classification: An ESRC funded project
(2023–2026) An evidence-based and policy-orientated classification of English coastal communities linked to suitably granular data to understand the research and policy needs of these communities.
ASKSNIFF
(2010–present) Acutely Sick Kid Safety Netting Interventions for Families (ASK SNIFF): A collaborative co-design research programme.
Identifying determinants of health inequality
(2021–2027) Developing data-driven solutions to identify the interactions between factors that contribute to individual and population-level health outcomes.
Plymouth Community Homes Digital Living Lab
(2024–present) An innovative, real-world environment where researchers, companies, public organisations and end-users collaborate to co-create, test and refine new digital health technologies with the aim of creating a healthier home environment.
Beyond the Plus Sign
(2021–present) Research aiming to challenge traditional identity development models and foster a more inclusive and empathetic community.
The (O)nline (N)egativity Study
(2019–present) The (O)nline (N)egativity Study explored LGBTQ+ young peoples’ daily experiences online, particularly the negativity and discrimination regularly encountered.
Automated identification of cancer patients via deep phenotyping
(2021–2025) Using AI technologies including machine learning, deep learning and natural language processing to extract clinically meaningful information from patients’ notes and electronic health records.
Recently completed projects
Completed 2020–2024
An investigation into the therapeutic potential of virtual natural environments for chronic low back pain
(2023–2024) Exploring how different levels of fascination within a virtual natural environment impacts different pain and pain related outcomes in participants.
Generating Older Active Lives Digitally (GOALD)
(2021–2024) The GOALD project uses intergenerational groups to examine how to design and deliver digital resources to provide and engage older people in structured activity programmes with the aim of improving their health and wellbeing.
Remote-by-Default Care in the COVID-19 Pandemic
(2021–2024) The ‘Remote by Default’ Covid-19 project, funded through the ESRC, is examining digital communications between patients and primary care practices.
eHealth Productivity and Innovation in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (EPIC)
(2017–2023) EPIC focuses on strengthening the digital health ecosystem in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, by supporting development-led growth in enterprises, whilst closely working with health and care users, workers, and commissioners.
Healthy Ageing through Innovation in Rural Europe (HAIRE)
(2020–2022) HAIRE is a £4.5 million project that works across eight rural communities – two each in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and the UK – to improve health and care quality and help to create an economy of wellbeing.
Centre for Health Technology Pop-up
(2019–2020) The pop-up was based in The Plot, Stonehouse, Plymouth and aimed to address local health inequalities and social deprivation using digital technology and eHealth solutions.
Enhancing the safe and effective use of medications
(2021–2022) Using AI technologies to enable the safe and effective use of medications for the best possible outcomes in patients.
Akara
(2022–2023) The Centre for Health Technology has been working with the robotics company Akara since 2017.
Childbearing women with epilepsy engaging with digital health technology
(2021–2022) Investigating how digital technologies might be used to improve the wellbeing of expectant mothers who suffer from epilepsy seizures.
Can AI bring a better prediction of responses to chemotherapy in breast cancer?
(2020–2022) This project will use artificial intelligence techniques with ctDNA and clinical data sets to build data-driven models which predict subclone evolution and therefore a patient’s response to chemotherapy.
Centre for Health Technology
Professor Sheena Asthana
Professor Ray Jones
Professor Shangming Zhou