Labman has been awarded the NHS Innovations Award for 2016! Attended by over 400 guests from all over the NHS and other industries, the award ceremony saw a multitude of innovative ideas and proposals all vying for the top spot in their respective categories. Labman’s unique design for improving the egg collection procedure for IVF was announced as the winner in the innovative technology or device category.
The brainchild of Professor Alison Murdoch, Consultant Gynaecologist and Professor of Reproductive Medicine, and Labman Inventor Rob Hodgson, this exciting project will greatly improve egg quality, and thus the potential success of IVF. The device has been developed from its original conceptual design by Tom Smith and Robert Talintyre of Labman, in conjunction with Alison, Rob and Rez Prathalingham of The Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
The device will help to ensure that the culture environment in which eggs are stored and transported from the ovary to the laboratory is enclosed, minimising the risks of contamination. Eggs will be maintained at body temperature during transfer and will have a constant physiological PH – further ensuring an environment that aims to mimic human conditions.
A huge congratulation to all the other winners of the various categories at the NHS Innovations Awards, and our thanks to all that helped in getting this amazing project to this stage. With the aid of this award, the product will soon be ready for clinical trials.