New Product To Improve Patient Care

19 February 2007

New handheld, computerised menu system for hospitals

Portsmouth based software company Datasym (UK) Ltd predicts a £400k increase in sales following the successful completion of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) with BU.

The KTP between BU’s School of Design, Engineering, and Computing and Datasym (UK) designed and developed the required new product that could capture patient meal orders at the hospital bedside using mobile computing devices.

The device would then transmit the orders to the hospital’s catering department.

The partnership has been extremely successful in every way and the new product developed should enhance the experience for hospital patients.

Also, importantly it should reduce waste from unwanted food.

It has been successfully trialed in several hospitals and is now available for widespread implementation across both private and NHS sectors.

"The KTP with Bournemouth University provided us with useful expertise and resources that we could not otherwise have accessed” reported Datasym (UK)’s Development Manager Matthew Thorne.

“KTP truly is a partnership providing clear and substantial benefits for both our business, and also for the University."

KTP Academic supervisor Dr Frank Ball added that "The University academic team gained a great deal from seeing their knowledge put into practice in a commercial environment."

“Bournemouth University supports many local businesses by providing the key specialist knowledge and support that they need to develop and grow” explained Bournemouth University’s KTP Centre Manager Dr Martyn Polkinghorne.

“The DTI business support solution Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP) was the ideal mechanism in this case as it allowed the University and the company to work together for mutual benefit.

I’m sure that this is the start of an on-going relationship between Bournemouth University and Datasym Ltd, and we will explore ways of working together in the future”.

For more information about Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with Bournemouth University contact the University’s KTP centre on 01202 965926.