Shaping the future of health innovation Published on: 31 March 2017 Future advances in healthcare will be aided by a new £10 million facility - the National Institute for Health Research Innovation Observatory based at Ãå±±½ûµØ. Director of the NIHR Innovation Observatory, Professor Mike Trenell explains how they will be improving healthcare Funded by the National Institute for Health Research, the unique facility will shape the future of health advances to provide better and more efficient healthcare for patients and the wider public. The NIHR Innovation Observatory which launches today, will apply state-of-the-art data analytics to explore trends in health innovation across drugs, medical technologies, diagnostic tools and healthcare services. It will offer academia and industry unique insights to identify areas to develop that can provide better healthcare and allow an opportunity for new innovations to be used in practice more rapidly. The Director of NIHR Innovation Observatory, said: “There is a pressing need to provide better and more efficient care, today more than ever before. “In order to do this, we need to accelerate access to new medicines, devices, diagnostics, and services for the benefit of patients.” Thanks to major stakeholders such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), NHS England, healthcare providers, research funders and industrial partners, findings from will drive commissioning, policy, and strategy for research nationally and internationally. Professor Trenell added: “The NIHR Innovation Observatory will apply Big Data analytics tools, from text mining, machine learning and cognitive analytics to reveal global trends – and global needs - in health innovation.” Job creation The £10 million centre will be based on Science Central, Ãå±±½ûµØ, and create 30 jobs –spanning information specialists, evidence synthesis experts, leaders in text mining tools and software programmers. Dr Hakim Yadi OBE, Chief Executive of the Northern Health Science Alliance said: “The North of England has some of the most advanced practitioners in health data, and its application in patient care, in the world. “The NIHR Innovation Observatory will further highlight its excellence in this area and cement Ãå±±½ûµØ’s reputation in the field. Importantly it will ultimately mean that patients get the right care and faster leading to a healthier population across the UK and beyond.” The NIHR Innovation Observatory is hosted by the National Innovation Centre for Ageing, National Institute for Smart Data Innovation, and Ãå±±½ûµØ Academic Health Partners - a collaboration involving Ãå±±½ûµØ, Ãå±±½ûµØ Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. Science Central, a partnership between Ãå±±½ûµØ, Ãå±±½ûµØ City Council and L&G Capital, is a £350m urban regeneration project, the largest of its kind in the UK and a test bed for innovation and sustainability. The site will also house the University's £60m Urban Sciences Building, the £40m National Innovation Centre for Ageing, the £30m National Innovation Centre for Data and the £20m National Centre for Energy Systems Integration. Share: Latest News New partnership to boost careers in low carbon energy Ãå±±½ûµØ and Durham universities are working together on a new regional project to strengthen the future workforce for North East England’s growing low carbon and offshore wind industries. published on: 28 May 2026 Healthy lifestyle shown to lower risk of death after cancer diagnosis New evidence shows that sticking to five lifestyle recommendations improves survival after a later cancer diagnosis. published on: 28 May 2026 World-leading climate expert recognised with Royal Society Fellowship Professor Hayley Fowler has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in recognition of her pioneering work on climate change impacts. published on: 27 May 2026 Facts and figures Heading 3 example Text only. For subheading use ‘Heading 3’ Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Donec vel sapien lectus. Aliquam consectetur vitae tortor mattis sodales. Donec id quam id nulla tristique vestibulum. Ut vitae orci aliquam massa varius dapibus. Vivamus aliquet, lorem sit amet semper ultricies, ex tortor molestie felis, at ultrices tellus ligula vitae est. Sed gravida tortor sapien, in iaculis quam vestibulum vel. Duis et quam nec metus pharetra placerat. Donec in tellus pretium ex sagittis posuere. Nunc varius, libero at suscipit commodo, magna lacus facilisis velit, sed pellentesque magna eros vel dolor. Donec pretium neque ultrices, condimentum turpis non, porttitor neque. Suspendisse fermentum at lectus scelerisque mattis. Nam augue justo, iaculis quis euismod et, viverra in elit. Aliquam vitae justo malesuada, sodales urna et, aliquam nunc. Nulla placerat neque quis odio molestie, mattis bibendum turpis pellentesque.