An online platform that brings together West of England innovators and entrepreneurs with members of the public living with different health conditions has been launched.
Called Design Together, Live Better, it aims to make connections that co-create new healthcare projects based on real needs.
It will link patients, carers, family members, friends or anyone interested in health with companies and entrepreneurs share ideas and help develop the next generation of healthcare products. 
The platform has been developed by the West of England Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) and was launched at an event recently in Swindon.
The event explored and celebrated the increasing role members of the public play in the co-design and co-production of new products, as it is being recognised that people living with challenging health conditions are best placed to see what features are needed in new products and technologies.
Two pioneering healthcare projects developed in the West of England are already live on the platform and seeking citizen input.
Speech therapy app Intelligent Sounds could be used by people who have suffered strokes or head injuries or have Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis.
Music Memory Box helps people with dementia to recall memories. Both are looking for people to test the products and provide feedback.
Keynote speaker at the event was Hilary Newiss, chair of the health and social care charity coalition National Voices. Hilary has been central in developing recommendations as part of the NHS Accelerated Access Review on putting patients at the centre of health care.
Three patients-turned-innovators also shared their inspiring stories of designing new products in response to their own health conditions.
- Bristol-based Kevin Mashford was born with congenital heart disease and has spent all his life in and out of hospital. Kevin developed Mi Heart as both a patient app and clinician platform enabling the efficient communication of symptoms, appointments, vital statistics and medication.
- Iain Stevenson has Type 2 diabetes and has used his IT background both to manage his condition and develop Soupdragon, which enables individuals to securely manage their digital identity and personal data and choose how to share this with health professionals.
- Michael Seres invented the Ostom-iAlert after receiving a bowel transplant and discovered a need to improve how he monitored and shared data on his condition with health professionals.
The Design Together, Live Better platform is now seeking to develop collaborations between patients and companies to encourage similar projects.
Delegates at the event were given the opportunity to help share their ideas to shape and develop this new platform, which is currently at beta-testing stage.
AHSN enterprise director Lars Sundstrom said: “We need to make better use of people’s insights into their own conditions and lives; they are the experts in what would make life easier and, more specifically, what's missing and what could be created to help.
“Our new innovation platform will do exactly that by putting people in touch with each other, to co-design and co-create the next generation of innovative healthcare products so that they precisely match currently unmet needs. I am really excited about this – it could be a real game changer!”
Anyone interested in joining the Design Together, Live Better community can do so online at designtogetherlivebetter.org/join-our-community. It is also on Twitter at @DTLB_ and Facebook at /designtogetherlivebetter.
The AHSN is based in Bristol and is one of 15 AHSNs across England, established by NHS England in 2013 to spread innovation at pace and scale.
