Manchester University, Medtronic Team Up to Advance Medtech Innovation

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and Medtronic are reinforcing their creative partnership through an agreement to co-develop new robotic surgery and artificial intelligence (AI)-based medical solutions.

The two organizations have signed a U.K.-first RDI (Research, Development and Innovation) collaboration agreement to streamline the collaboration process in cardiovascular, neuroscience, medical surgery, and diabetes-related projects.

Building on the successful relationships the Trust has with other industry partners; this union will accelerate the development of medtech solutions for unmet clinical needs that could ultimately benefit patients and healthcare providers globally, according to MFT and Medtronic bigwigs.

“We are delighted to sign this partnership agreement which highlights our existing strong commercial relationship with Medtronic, allowing us to capitalize on opportunities to work together. Medtronic’s standing as one of the largest, most innovative healthtech companies in the world aligns perfectly with the innovation ambitions of MFT,” said Dr. Katherine Boylan, deputy managing director of Research and Innovation (Innovation) at MFT. “This collaboration provides a huge opportunity to pioneer breakthroughs in healthcare and accelerate our joint projects to design and deliver innovative research that will really make a difference in the NHS, to benefit people in Greater Manchester and beyond.”

The partnership will be supported by MFT’s Clinical Data Science Unit, which safely and efficiently transforms anonymized clinical data for public and professional benefit, using a state-of-the-art Trusted Research Environment. This data will support the development of new innovations ensuring the NHS is fit for the future.

The partnership will also provide opportunities for MFT’s existing hosted infrastructure, including the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Emergency and Acute Care, with the strategic focus to utilize new technology to meet the big three shifts from the NHS 10 Year Plan, including hospital to community and analogue to digital, by increasing remote patient monitoring and community-based care complimented by Medtronic’s product portfolio.

“We are thrilled to strengthen our longstanding partnership with MFT through this RDI collaboration agreement,” stated Dr. Matthew Williams-Gray, senior director of U.K. and Ireland at Medtronic. “This partnership aligns perfectly with Medtronic’s commitment to pioneering health technology solutions that address unmet clinical needs. By co-developing solutions in cardiovascular, neuroscience, medical surgery, and diabetes, we aim to accelerate the transformation of healthcare and improve patient outcomes. Together, we are poised to make a significant impact on the NHS.”

The new agreement between MFT and Medtronic will build on the two organizations’ existing partnership, which has been delivering improved care and better clinical outcomes for patients over the past decade through piloting medical technology solutions in hospitals operated by the trust, including ‘TriageHP Plus’, a remote heart monitoring pathway that has proven to dramatically reduce the hospitalizations due to heart failure.

In October 2024, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended NHS use of the pathway for heart failure patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (such as pacemakers).

The prospectus highlights Manchester’s position within the U.K.’s £120 billion growing life sciences market and the role the city-region can play in life sciences. The city-region stands at the forefront of the government’s ambition to establish the U.K. as a global life sciences superpower, positioning Manchester as the U.K.’s key growth opportunity for life sciences investment and innovation.