The Future of Equity in MedTech

Looking along the Innovation Journey from Design to Deployment 

This meeting aims to progress the roadmap for equity in digital, diagnostic and devices (‘MedTech’) through developing clarity on what equitable MedTech means, how it can be achieved, and by whom. 

MedTech is already fundamentally changing health and healthcare. The UK government is committed to MedTech as an important contributor in addressing the nation’s worsening health, and 90% NHS staff believe that innovation, including MedTech, is key to managing healthcare demand. 

Equity in MedTech involves designing, developing, regulating, and deploying medical technologies with consideration of health equalities and equities – with reference to systemic biases, diverse representation, affordability and accessibility, and equity-focused policies at every stage of the innovation pipeline. 

AI-generated Podcast

We invited five health and life-science leaders to record a short voice note about their views on equity in MedTech, and used Google’s Notebook LM (Notebooklm.google) to make an AI-generated Podcast from those voice notes. Our thanks to the contributors: Dr Andrew Mkwashi, Ms Patience Kunonga, Dr Michael Crichton, Prof Jane Mcdermott, and Prof Niina Kolehmainen together with Miss Noora Ryan (7yo). To listen to the podcast, please view below:

Agenda and Participants

This event will be highly interactive and dynamic, using scenario and assignment -based discussions to explore inequities in the MedTech pipeline and to identify strategies for more inclusive, equitable innovation and deployment. Experts and leaders from across the health and life-sciences will be in attendance, giving valuable insights into the designing, developing, regulating, governing, funding, deploying or using MedTech. 

Key questions

• What does, and should, ‘equitable MedTech’ utility and deployment mean in practice, from the perspective of policymakers, health and social care professionals, and the public? 

• How could such equitable MedTech be achieved – what needs to change at each stage of the innovation journey, and how? 

• What will the different players, who have a role along that journey, need to do, how, and with whom? 

This meeting will focus primarily on MedTech that falls under medical device regulatory approvals and clearances. We anticipate the conversation to rapidly grow to include broader HealthTech as the future health and wellbeing relies on more porous, integrated approach across prevention, protection, monitoring, management and cure.  

Lunch and refreshments will be provided. For more information please contact IO Admin support on io-admin-support@io.nihr.ac.uk