The Henry Royce Institute has published the Materials for Bioelectronics in Healthcare Strategy and Action Plan a comprehensive report that aims to help future-proof the UK’s bioelectronics for healthcare sector through materials innovation.
The Strategy presents findings from a development process completed between February and July 2024 and features key insights from over 60 stakeholders active in materials for bioelectronics research, commercialisation and clinical use.
As the first of its kind, the Strategy contains new data on the activity of bioelectronics for healthcare in the UK, materials in use, and recommended action plans to secure the future of the sector, primarily a new virtual centre for materials innovation for bioelectronics in healthcare.
Highlights from the report include a detailed roadmap outlining the materials properties required by bioelectronics applications from now to 2040, which contributed to identifying three Grand Challenges that will form a focal point for researchers and innovators moving forward.
The Strategy also sets out a series of action plans, providing prioritised recommendations for stakeholders with influence over materials innovation for bioelectronics in healthcare, including Royce, universities and researchers, industry, the investment community, clinicians and healthcare bodies, policy and regulation bodies, funding bodies, and RTOs including Catapults.
Commenting on the report, Kimberly Chaffin, Ph.D., Vice President Corporate Technologist for Medtronic said:
“If we act on the points within this report, we can ensure a thriving global market in materials systems for bioelectronics applications, and, more importantly, realise its potential in transforming healthcare by offering more precise, efficient, and personalised solutions for a range of medical challenges.”
Materials in the bioelectronics innovation ecosystem
Bioelectronics is the electronic monitoring and control of biological systems for applications in medicine, agriculture, industry, and the environment. It is an emerging, multidisciplinary field that spans several areas including chemistry, biology, engineering, computer science and clinical research. The Strategy focuses on bioelectronics in healthcare.
Bioelectronics in healthcare are defined as materials that are important to the function of electronic systems that directly interface with biological systems (in vivo or in vitro). These systems have broad applications, including the prevention, diagnosis, monitoring and treatment of disease, for patient rehabilitation and for improving general health.
While established devices like pacemakers, blood glucose monitors and cochlear implants have shown the benefit bioelectronics can bring to healthcare, major challenges remain in translating new technologies into industry.
Materials are key to bioelectronics innovation, featuring heavily in scientific papers on bioelectronics (1 in 4) and patent abstracts; ‘Materials’ is the most frequently used word in bioelectronics submissions.
Recognising the significant potential materials for bioelectronics have on the future of healthcare, Royce and partners developed the Strategy to guide and inform the broader bioelectronics community on the sector’s challenges for materials solutions and targeted action plans to address them.
The grand challenges
To fully understand and assess the future materials demand of bioelectronics for healthcare, it was important to map out the properties of materials that are likely to have the highest impact. The Bioelectronic Materials for Healthcare Roadmap describes these properties and based on this, three focal points known as the Grand Challenges were identified:
- Long-term implantable materials.
- Materials with ideal electrical properties.
- Materials which improve sensor performance in vivo.
It is hoped that these Grand Challenges will be supported by the discovery and translation of bioelectronic materials with properties specified in the roadmap.
Actions: Four key areas of focus
Several actions that could improve the translation environment for materials solutions are set out in the Strategy, including four key areas that require immediate focus and action:
- Facilities: Elevating the quality control standards and skills in existing facilities and investing in new facilities for the standards required by this highly controlled sector.
- Materials Supply: Improve access to, and knowledge of, biocompatible materials through data standards, networking and advisory services.
- Standards: Create new standards or refresh existing ones to make them suitable for bioelectronic materials, speeding up timescale and lowering development costs.
- Clinical Focus: Promote the challenges and needs of clinicians and their industrial suppliers to those researching solutions.
Lisa Hearty, the Business Development Manager of Biomedical Materials at Royce who led this Strategy’s development emphasises the need to address these areas of focus:
“Collaboration across academia, industry, and government is essential to creating a network of testing, prototyping, and fabrication facilities, which will improve access to biocompatible materials. By sharing material biocompatibility data, creating catalogues of available materials, and learning from each other, we can accelerate the development of safe and effective bioelectronic materials.”
The next steps – a proposed new virtual centre for materials innovation
Progressing these actions and addressing the Grand Challenges as soon as possible will lay the foundation for direct action to grow the UK’s materials capabilities for bioelectronics in healthcare. The next steps will look at the development of a new virtual centre for materials innovation for bioelectronics in healthcare to champion the sector, ultimately creating a unique and globally significant innovation capacity in the UK.
A Materials for Bioelectronics Challenge Programme is also advised to coordinate the progression of the three Grand Challenges and other material properties from the roadmap.
Our universities, and businesses of every size, are already active in this area and if we get this right, the UK can position itself as a key player in an ever-growing global bioelectronics in healthcare market.”
Professor Róisín M. Owens, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Cambridge
The Materials for Bioelectronics in Healthcare Strategy and Action Plan is freely available to download here.
A summary document is also available to download here.
This Strategy’s development was programme managed by Urban Foresight. The team collaborated with experts from ScotChem and CPI to define the scope of bioelectronics in healthcare. They conducted market research and economic analysis to navigate this rapidly emerging field, before exploring its needs for materials innovation.
Royce’s Bioelectronics Working Group, comprising of Kim Chaffin Ph.D. PE, Vice President Corporate Technologist for Medtronic, Professor Róisín M Owens, Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology at the University of Cambridge, and Lisa Hearty, the Research Business Development Manager of Biomedical Materials at Royce, spearheaded the advancement of the Strategy.
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