NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre awarded over £1m for vital research equipment

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The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Imperial Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) has been awarded more than £1 million by the NIHR for cutting edge equipment that will support vital translational research across the BRC partnership.

This funding is in addition to more than £100m awarded since 2022 to continue developing new experimental treatments and diagnostics for patients. The NIHR Imperial BRC is a partnership between Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and Imperial College London. 

The new equipment will help researchers improve outcomes for patients by increasing access to clinical trials and innovative new treatments across the Trust. 

Caring for premature babies 

BRC neonatal researchers have been testing a new technique, known as a super-resolution ultrasound scan (SRUS) to assess the brains of premature or sick babies at their bedside. This imaging allows doctors to see the tiniest blood vessels and structure of the brain at far greater clarity than MRI, meaning the new machine will help identify signs of brain injury safely, early and accurately, while keeping vulnerable premature newborns as close to their parents as possible. This intervention has the potential to reduce the risk of death or lifelong complications, such as cerebral palsy 

Commenting on the impact of the new funding, NIHR Imperial BRC director, Professor Mark Thursz, said: “The impact of research infrastructure can sometimes be overlooked but in most cases the equipment that all our researchers rely on underpins successful clinical trials. The new equipment we will acquire as a result of this funding has potential to significantly improve outcomes for patients and will support our research teams to deliver trials with wider access and increased impact more easily.”