Government advisers and university leaders recently joined the launch of a major new research hub, led by UCL and the University of Cambridge, that aims to harness quantum technology to improve early diagnosis and treatment of disease.
The UK Quantum Biomedical Sensing Research (Q-BIOMED) hub, supported with £24 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), is the first quantum research hub to be dedicated to healthcare or life sciences and aims to be the foundation for a new quantum-for-health innovation ecosystem in the UK.
It seeks to exploit advances in quantum sensors capable of detecting cells, molecules and processes in the body much more sensitively than traditional diagnostic tests.
The hub, including partners from industry, the NHS, charities and patient groups, is one of five quantum research hubs set up as part of the UK Government’s National Quantum Technologies Programme (NQTP). The six key academic partners are UCL and Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick, Heriot-Watt, and Cardiff universities.
The launch event, held at the Shard, included a closing speech from Professor Dame Angela McLean, the Government Chief Scientific Adviser. It was attended by UCL’s President & Provost, Dr Michael Spence, as well as the Provost of the University of Warwick, Professor Emma Flynn, Principal and Vice Chancellor of Heriot-Watt University, Professor Richard Williams, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, Professor Deborah Prentice, and Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cardiff, Professor Gavin Shaddick.
Professor Rachel McKendry, Co-Director of the new hub, from the London Centre for Nanotechnology and Division of Medicine at UCL, said: “Our hub brings together two areas of science, quantum and biomedicine, in which the UK is world leading. Quantum-enabled technologies have so much potential to improve health care. Our vision is to accelerate the co-creation and adoption of these technologies, leading to earlier diagnoses and better health outcomes.
“We are proud that our hub has already had an impact, helping to shape the national quantum strategy, leading to a dedicated national quantum mission for health and the inclusion of quantum sensing in the NHS 10-year plan working groups.”
Dame Angela said: “Quantum technology is at the heart of the Government's ambition to be a leading innovative economy. The new Q-BIOMED hub is a great step towards improving our health care using quantum technology and enables cross-sector collaboration.”
Dr Michael Spence, UCL’s President & Provost, said: “UCL is home to the largest biomedical cluster in Europe, with huge potential for growth. The UK’s most successful quantum computing companies were started here. The new Q-BIOMED hub brings these two fields together to improve the treatment and diagnosis of disease, with a range of partnerships across six universities alongside groups from industry, the NHS and charities.”
The launch event showcased research from across the six partner universities. Quantum technologies harness quantum physics to achieve a functionality or a performance which is otherwise unattainable, deriving from science which cannot be explained by classical physics.
The hub’s four core flagship programmes were presented:
- Biomedical imaging: Quantum sensors measuring tiny changes in magnetic fields are being developed for a range of applications from epilepsy and cardiovascular disease to early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. New quantum imaging capabilities are being explored to enhance MRI including faster scan times to help cut waiting lists.
- Quantum enhanced in-vitro diagnostics: ultra-sensitive blood tests will be developed harnessing spin-enhanced nanodiamond sensors in simple lateral flow tests and other portable formats. This could widen access to testing in GP surgeries, pharmacists and home self-testing, thereby transforming earlier diagnosis of a range of diseases spanning from infections to cancer.
- New surgical and treatment interventions for early-stage and hard to treat cancers. These include a new approach investigating the use of magnetic nanoparticles to treat cancer.
- New quantum sensing technology capable of analysing single cells and molecules, to help researchers identify mechanisms within cells that could be targeted to prevent disease.
Speakers included Professor Neil Sebire (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health), who emphasised the need for close ties with clinicians and for a healthcare systems-level perspective during the development of new technologies. Professor Quentin Pankhurst (UCL Medical Physics & Biomedical Engineering and co-founder of UCL spin out Endomag and Resonant Circuits Limited), meanwhile, chaired a discussion on translating research from the lab to the clinic.
This included hub academics with a strong track record in research translation: Professor John Morton (Q-BIOMED Deputy Director based at the London Centre for Nanotechnology at UCL and co-founder of the companies Quantum Motion and Phasecraft), and Professor Dame Molly Stevens (Q-BIOMED Deputy Director based at the University of Oxford and co-founder of five companies) as well as Chris Hudson from Roche Diagnostics, Matthew Markham from Element Six and Dr Anastasia Chalkidou (Programme Director, Guidance Delivery, Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, NICE), who highlighted the need for a clear pathway to adoption for hub technologies and the need to engage early with organisations like NICE.
An afternoon discussion on the future of quantum for health involved key opinion leaders including Sir Peter Knight (Chair of the UK National Quantum Technology Programme Strategy Advisory Board), Hannah Boardman (Director of Emerging Technologies and Innovation Regulations at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) and Professor Lucy Chappell, Chief Scientific Advisor at the Department of Health and Social Care and CEO of the NIHR.
The five hubs announced in the summer are being delivered by the UKRI Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), with a £106 million investment from EPSRC, the UKRI Biotechnology and Biological Research Council, UKRI Medical Research Council, and the NIHR. Directors for all four other hubs QCI3, IQN, QuSIT and QPENT and the National Quantum Computing Centre joined the Q-BIOMED launch celebrations.
At UCL alone, the hub involves a wide range of disciplines, with quantum experts, physicists and chemists working with biomedical researchers, cardiologists, healthcare engineers and neuroscientists, from the Faculties of UCL Medical Sciences, UCL Mathematical & Physical Sciences, UCL Engineering, UCL Brain Sciences and UCL Population Health Sciences.
The hub’s partners include the NIHR, UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre, NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre, Barts Health NHS Trust, the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Addenbrookes Hospital and the Africa Health Research Institute. There are 17 industry partners, and charity partners including the Alzheimer’s Society and Cancer Research UK.
