World's first system to monitor the threat of future pandemics in Oxfordshire
The surveillance system will monitor the threat of future pandemics and speed up diagnosis for cancers
The World's first real-time surveillance system to monitor the threat of future pandemics is set to be created in Oxfordshire.
The government's partnering with scientists in based in Oxford to create the new technology and speed up diagnosis for cancers.
'This is just the tip of the iceberg'
Tonya McSherry is a spokesperson from Oxford Nanopore, she said: “This announcement is just the tip of the iceberg of where we’re going to be heading.
“We’re thinking about novel ways to answer questions to problems that we know exist. This is just one example of how we leverage technology to improve healthcare overall, and we’re excited to see how working with the NHS and the research programmes will transform what we know today.”
The government is set to partner with Oxford Nanopore, which uses technology to rapidly diagnose a range of cancers, along with rare and infectious diseases.
The new partnership with cutting-edge life sciences company Oxford Nanopore will lead to better scientific research and could create tests and treatments for patients, saving lives.
Ms McSherry said: “Now we have improved diagnosis at an appropriate response time for those genetic incidences, and it allows us to think about how we leverage a new technology for prevention.”
Patients suspected of having severe acute respiratory infections will be diagnosed within 6 hours, supporting the establishment of a new diagnostic system
'We cannot let history repeat itself'
The technology will also allow potential outbreaks of bacterial or viral diseases to be monitored alongside antimicrobial resistance, shifting NHS from analogue to digital as part of 10-Year Health Plan.
The UK will create the world's first real-time surveillance system to monitor the threat of future pandemics, prevent disease, and protect the public.
Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting said: "If we fail to prepare, we should prepare to fail. Our NHS was already on its knees when the pandemic struck, and it was hit harder than any other comparable healthcare system.
"We cannot let history repeat itself. That's why this historic partnership with Oxford Nanopore will ensure our world-leading scientists have the latest information on emerging threats at their fingertips.
"As we embrace the technological revolution, our 10-Year Health Plan will shift the NHS away from analogue to digital, saving countless more lives."
Plans have been announced to form a new partnership between the government, Genomics England, UK Biobank, NHS England, and Oxford Nanopore.
Oxford Nanopore uses long read sequencing technology to analyse genes and pathogens to rapidly diagnose a range of cancers, along with rare and infectious diseases. The technology can sequence long strands of DNA or RNA in one go, without breaking it up into smaller fragments.
In infectious diseases, Oxford Nanopore's technology will help to create an early warning system for future pandemics and potential biological threats, both preventing disease and protecting the public.