AI meets medicine: strategies, start-ups and corporate innovation

Key stakeholders in MedTech came together at the University of Leeds in February 2025 to help and guide MedTechstart ups. Emma Berry shares key learnings from the eminent speaker panel.

 

Tailor products to NHS systems and processes

Hutan Ashrafian reminded that the NHS holds 80% market share in the medical device industry so tailor your devices for integration with pre-existing NHS systems.

 

Leverage clinical insights

Umang Patel, Chief Clinical Officer at Microsoft outlined his varied professional journey, starting from medicine then to insurance and ultimately to Microsoft. As a practicing pediatrician, Umang helps to provide Microsoft with invaluable clinical insights so products and services are easy for clinicians to adopt.

 

Regulatory language in marketing collateral may create new opportunities

Krsto Pandza from Leeds University Business school focused his presentation on the difference in language between marketing materials and compliance documentation of medical devices questioning whether regulatory language used in marketing materials has the potential to carve out new markets in, for example, AI-based medical devices.

 

Variety, diversity and collaboration are key to success

The panellists agreed that variety and diversity of leadership teams is key to the success of the business. In particular, a combination of technical and clinical knowledge is key to effectively take your product to market.

 

Optellum focussed on the importance of interdisciplinary teams in bringing AI innovations to the healthcare market. Opetullum provide AI-powered lung cancer diagnostic support and has a diverse team of technical and clinical expertise.

 

Generative AI may pose regulatory challenges

Johan Ordish from Roche then focussed on the potential challenges that generative AI poses in the context of regulating AI-enabled medical devices. The three main themes of the presentation included software as a medical device (SaMD), software of undue provenance (SOUP) and robustness in relation to AI-enabled medical devices. The type of AI model used to build or used as part of the medical device necessarily influences the combination of the different regulatory issues with varying severity.

 

Know your MedTech customer

The final panel discussion focused on adopting AI innovations in the MedTech ecosystem. The panelists discussed the importance of knowing your customer in the sale process, particularly to the NHS. The panelists highlighted the importance of consulting with clinicians that will be using the products as well as being aware of the infrastructure that is available to them – some of the NHS computer systems date back to the 1980s! 

 

For more information about our involvement and experience in the UK’s MedTech industry, please contact Andy McKinlay.