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Professor John Fisher is the Academic Director of the Medical Technologies IKC.

Since our launch in 2009, the IKC has adapted its strategic approach to respond to external changes, but our core principles remain the same: bringing together different disciplines and different technologies to take research closer to commercialisation.

By specifically focusing on the translation pathway, we add value to high quality research across many disciplines. From our base in Leeds, we now support activity across the UK, with a distinctive focus on certain specialismswithin medical technologies.Our wider network of universities hasenabled us to address new healthcare areas,applying the same approach and processes we first developed to advance technologies in musculoskeletal (MSK) regeneration.

Our case studies showcase our expertise in the clinical application of technologies in orthopaedics, joint replacement, MSK and dentistry, with growing interest in other areas of excellence, namely cardiovascular, soft tissue repair and ophthalmology.

But as well as a national centre of excellence, we are part of a strong regional medical technologies sector, as evidenced by our Science Innovation Audit for the Leeds City Region, sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Our collaborations with the region’s universities, healthcare providers and medtech companies creates a broad regional footprint covering a wide range of medical technologies.

The global medical technology market is expected to see a 50 per cent increase by 2022. This provides an economic opportunity, but it also foreshadows a major change in how healthcare will be delivered. Yet technology alone cannot make improvements. Technologies need to be innovatively applied to create cost effective advances in healthcare.

Our rigorous process, which identifies clinical application and market potential at an early stage, enables technologies to be robustly assessed before moving on to commercialisation. This approach has proven its value, with many technologies we have supported through proof of concept now in clinical trials or already on the market, as highlighted in this report.

Nine years on, we are happy to let our results speak for themselves.