How baby Aurelia’s story delights international experts

An international conference that heard about an Addenbrooke’s invention that can save babies lives received a surprise input from two unexpected guests – the parents of one of the first babies to benefit from it.

James and Nicola Hunt, whose daughter Aurelia was born prematurely at Colchester Hospital, joined the UK-India Healthcare Convention in London remotely to explain their positive experience of LocANTS.

The cloud-based platform remotely parachutes experts from Cambridge into hospitals that need extra clinical help. They can monitor equipment, examine scans and X-rays, review medication and advise clinicians and parents.

It saves babies being transferred elsewhere to specialist centres and families being parted at a highly stressful time– particularly if there are other young children involved.

Before the conference James explained: “It was a huge relief that the technology existed. Had it been different, it would have completely blown our family life for a couple weeks. It was hard enough already and it would have made it even harder.”

Guest at Saturday’s (20 April) conference in Wembley Park watched as for the first time ever LocANTS, was demonstrated outside and NHS setting.

Consultant neonatologist Dr Sajeev Job set up a remote meeting with consultants from Kings College, London, and Bedford Hospital, and junior doctors from Royal Berkshire Hospital and Newcastle.

They demonstrated how a point-of-care echocardiography – a scan used to look at the heart and nearby blood vessels – could be done by a non-expert in a district general hospital and interpreted by a cardiologist in a specialist tertiary centre to make the right decision.

Watching were inventors, consultant paediatrician and neonatologist, Dr Arun Dhar, and London-based entrepreneur and IT consultant, Ranadip Chatterjee. They were on hand to answer questions with Addenbrooke’s director of innovation and consultant neonatologist, Dr Sue Broster.

Dr Broster also joined a panel discussion on ‘Getting the fruits of innovation to the masses – addressing the next billion user challenge’.

Dr Dhar said: “The event had a high-profile audience and the demonstration generated much attention from the leaders in public and private hospitals in India.

“Consultants from other NHS trusts also expressed their interest and there were discussions about how LocANTS can be used in other contexts besides new-born babies. These included A&E, psychiatry and acute adult medicine.

“We would like to thank all distinguished guests who listened, or helped us, with the demonstration and in particular little Aurelia’s parents.They are an excellent example of what drives us to develop this advanced technology.”

Progress on LocANTS coincides with plans for the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital, which will be the first of its kind in the East of England.