INTRODUCTION

  1.  The Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine is a registered charity (number 1047999) which exists to promote, for the public benefit, the advancement of physics and engineering applied to medicine and biology and to advance public education in the field, and also to represent the needs and interests of engineering and physical sciences in the provision or advancement of health care.

  2.  The vast majority of the Institute's members are clinical scientists and engineers working in United Kingdom hospitals or university departments, and many are engaged in research and development in health care applications of physical science or engineering. A few Corporate Members and some Affiliates work in industrial and commercial organisations related to medical physics and bioengineering. The Institute also has a world-wide membership.

SUMMARY

  3.  This submission deals with the situation concerning healthcare applications of physical sciences and engineering arising largely from the efforts of physicists and engineers employed by the NHS.

  4.  The underlying problem is the large number of SMEs in the healthcare sector whose successful development is compromised by the lack of large UK companies.

  5.  Our Institute, being a registered charity and learned society, is hampered in initiatives, such as our UK Medical Devices Technology Transfer Fair, by being unable to receive support from government schemes.

  6.  We recommend the formation of networks committed to the dissemination to SMEs of the technologies arising from research and development.

WRITTEN EVIDENCE

The industrial application of government funded research

  7.  A large proportion of the Institute's members working in hospitals as well as universities are active in research in the many specialist areas of physical science and engineering which underpin developments in the diagnosis and treatment of illness and cost-effective clinical services of the future. Original patents for magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scanning were filed after pioneering work in the United Kingdom, as were those for a host of lesser known, but equally valuable developments.

  8.  It is, however, a matter of regret to British scientists that their research and development success has not been exploited by British industry. The medical device industry is dominated by German, Japanese and US manufacturers. There are now no manufacturers of major radiodiagnostic equipment either based in the United Kingdom or undertaking their research and development programmes here. This contrasts sharply with the pharmaceutical industry, where there are world-class companies undertaking research and development and manufacturing work in the United Kingdom.

  9.  This partly reflects the decline of the British engineering industry. Scientists and engineers working in health care continue to be innovative, but find it increasingly difficult to find suitable British industrial partners willing to develop and market these ideas. The difficulty of transferring technology to the medical engineering industry is compounded by the fragmented nature of this sector, which is overwhelmingly composed of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This problem could be addressed by strengthening Medilink-type initiatives in this area. At present these help small firms to bring products to market, but they could increasingly be used to address technology transfer issues.

  10.  When an entrepreneur forms a new company in order to develop a specific medical device which has market potential, he knows that any venture capital involved will seek an early, profitable exit from the venture. For this reason the entrepreneur expects that the company, if successful, may be obliged to sell out to major competitors, all of which are overseas.

The respective roles of Government Laboratories and independent research and technology organisations

  11.  The Government Research Agency with which the Institute's members have most dealings is the National Physical Laboratory, in particular its Radiation Metrology Section. This, however, has now become a commercial organisation and is seeking funding from the National Health Service, rather than being a source of indirect research funding into the National Health Service by being a source of independently funded support services. At present the NPL has a monopoly as the only Primary Standard Dosimetry Laboratory and now that Radiotherapy Centres have to pay for these services, competition in their provision would help to limit cost increases. It is acknowledged, however, that the only present competitive source would be overseas, most likely in Germany.

The operation of Government schemes designed to promote collaboration in and industrial application of research

  12.  A number of initiatives, including ROPA awards, Smart schemes, Link initiatives, teaching company schemes and other methods for encouraging commercial exploitation of research findings have been pursued with limited success. The Institute undertakes unique initiatives in this field, such as the United Kingdom Medical Device Technology Transfer Fairs, held in Durham in 1996 and to be held in Brighton in 1998. However, we find no support from Government schemes because, as a registered charity and learned society, we have not fitted into categories of eligible organisations.

  13.  Health Informatics, unlike device engineering, represents one area where there are still good prospects for the development of fairly vigorous activity. Also, engineering and physical science partnerships with pharmaceutical companies may offer prospects for increased commercial exploitation in the relatively new fields of bioinformatics, drug delivery systems and sensor technologies.

Intellectual property rights and patenting

  14.  The issue of intellectual property rights for developments within the National Health Service, in particular, needs to be addressed. In general, the NHS does not have the mechanisms in place to protect the intellectual property created by its employees.

  15.  It is not widely appreciated that cost-effective exploitation of NHS intellectual property can be achieved by use of existing, private-sector technology transfer organisations. This method, pioneered by the Institute's NHS members, has the advantage of minimal front-end costs. It secures the benefits (in order of importance) of rapid propagation of best medical technological practice, creation of employment in SMEs and recovery of development costs.

The provision of finance to support enterprises involved in the application of research and innovation

  16.  The Institute recommends the provision of finance to networks committed to disseminate to SMEs the technologies arising from research and innovation. Networks should include a lead enterprise and a research provider (academic, NHS, private). The purpose of the support should be to ensure that SMEs have the opportunity to update their technology.

The rôle of the Foresight programme in fostering networks and identifying priorities

  17.  The profession had no involvement in the establishment of the original Foresight programme. It supports the principles of Foresight and would welcome future involvement.

The rôle of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council in fostering technology transfer

  18.  We are not aware that the EPSRC has, to date, played a significant rôle in fostering technology transfer in the health care sector.

Progress made towards implementing those recommendations of the Science and Technology Committee in the previous Parliament in their report on The Routes Through Which the Science Base is Translated into Innovative Competitive Technology[26], relevant to the fields of engineering and physical sciences.

  19.  No comment.

Other issues

  20.  It would be helpful if there were improved inter-departmental links between the Office of Science and Technology, the Department of Health, and the Department for Education and Employment, so that resources available for the exploitation of physical sciences and engineering innovations in the health care sector (hospitals and associated university research departments) can be better utilised.

  21.  The professional status and recruitment of physical sciences graduates continues to be of concern. Job prospects for such graduates will inevitably be limited in the absence of a strong UK employer base. Examples of innovative medical devices that have successfully been transferred into commercial production in the United Kingdom have demonstrated the potential for creating employment opportunities in high technology industries.

The Institute would welcome the opportunity to give oral evidence to the Science and Technology Committee.

16 March 1998