Tay Health Tech

What Tay Health Tech does

Tay Health Tech is an EPSRC-funded Place-Based Impact Accelerator Account (PBIAA) initiative, co-led by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Dundee, operating as a collaborative innovation accelerator focused on the Tayside region of Scotland. Its core function is to translate academic research into community-based medical and healthcare technologies by distributing grant funding, providing access to specialised facilities, and convening a triple-helix consortium of five Scottish universities, NHS Tayside, Scottish Enterprise, InnoScot Health, civic bodies, and further education partners. The initiative addresses regional health inequalities — Tayside has a life-expectancy gap of more than 14 years — by shifting care from hospital to community settings.

The organisation's core technology focus spans medical devices, Software as a Medical Device (SaMD), and AI as a Medical Device, with a portfolio of ten funded Grand Challenge projects addressing four themes: Hospital at Home, Rehabilitation and Prehabilitation, Testing, and Prevention & Prognostics. Notable technical components include the PD Watch 5g wearable patch for Parkinson's tremor monitoring (98% tremor accuracy), BP Mate contactless radar-AI blood pressure measurement, VeraScan portable elastography, SilverGuardian privacy-preserving radar gait monitoring, HEARTPOD robotic-assisted cardiovascular monitoring, OLED photodynamic wound dressings, and the TECKLE diabetes device integration platform. The consortium leverages scarce shared infrastructure including the £3M-funded Medical Device Manufacturing Centre, Thiel cadaveric simulation facilities, and the ISO27001-certified Health Informatics Centre.

Tay Health Tech's business model is grant administration and ecosystem orchestration rather than commercial product sales. Revenue (if treated as such) comprises a £2.5M EPSRC PBIAA award over four years plus 2025 Grand Challenges funding of over £930,000 distributed to projects from a £995,000 pot. Other funding instruments include the Device-Enhanced Community Healthcare fund (up to £100,000), Access to Facilities Fund (up to £200,000), Mobility Fund (up to £25,000), Engagement Activities Fund (up to £10,000), and Sandpit Fund (up to £50,000). Go-to-market is event-driven and community-led, delivered through PPIE workshops, sandpits, webinars, an annual conference (inaugurated 21 May 2025 at Discovery Point, Dundee), and direct funding calls to researchers, NHS staff, SMEs, and civic partners. Customer segments comprise academic researchers, NHS Tayside practitioners, patients and the public of Tayside, medical technology SMEs, and civic bodies, with primary funder concentration on a single source: UKRI EPSRC.

Name

Tay Health Tech

Legal name

Tay Health Tech

Website

https://tayhealthtech.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Tay Health Tech is an EPSRC-funded innovation accelerator co-led by Heriot-Watt University and the University of Dundee, distributing grants and convening a triple-helix consortium to translate medical technology research into community healthcare solutions for the Tayside region of Scotland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Healthcare Innovation Funding

NAICS

Health and Welfare Funds (525120)

SIC

Federal & Federally-Sponsored Credit Agencies (6111)

akta.pro primary industry

Health Research Funding Agencies (Public/Quasi-Public) (HLAJALAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multilateral Global Health Agencies (UN/IFIs) (HLAJAKAA)

Keywords

• Healthcare innovation funding
• Medical technology acceleration
• Research translation support
• Place-based health innovation
• Community care technology

Headquarters

HQ city

University Place

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. EPSRC Place Based Impact Accelerator Account (PBIAA) Funding: Tay Health Tech is a grant-funded initiative under the EPSRC PBIAA scheme providing 4 years of funding to support a programme of activities within a research and innovation cluster. The funding supports translation of research into new health and care technologies closer to home.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Tay Health Tech is a Place-Based Impact Accelerator Account (PBIAA) co-led by Heriot-Watt University and University of Dundee that provides grant funding and translational support to researchers, NHS clinicians, and SMEs developing medical technologies for community-based healthcare in Tayside, Scotland. It operates a portfolio of funding programmes (Grand Challenges and Collaborative Fund) totalling over £930,000 awarded in 2025, alongside regulatory education, facility access, and PPIE engagement services. The initiative is funded by EPSRC with £2.5M over 4 years as one of ten PBIAAs in the first round of the scheme.

Product overview

Tay Health Tech is a Place-Based Impact Acceleration Account (PBIAA) funded by EPSRC, operating as a collaborative healthcare innovation initiative rather than a commercial product company. The organization's offerings consist of grant funding programmes (Collaborative Fund, Grand Challenges) supporting medical technology research in Tayside, Scotland. The Grand Challenges portfolio includes ten funded projects targeting community healthcare: OLED wound dressings, VeraScan elastography, TECKLE diabetes integration, BP Mate contactless monitoring, PD Watch Parkinson's tremor tracking, TakeTen stress management, HEARTPOD cardiovascular pods, SilverGuardian gait analysis, and RESTORE orthotics. Additionally, the initiative provides educational workshops on regulatory affairs, FMEA risk analysis, and pitching for investment, alongside conferences and networking events.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Grand Challenges Funding Programme A flagship research funding programme for academic researchers, NHS staff, and SMEs working on medical technology projects addressing four Grand Challenge themes: Hospital at Home, Rehabilitation and Prehabilitation, Testing, and Prevention and Prognostics. Awards up to £175,000 for projects up to 2 years.
• Collaborative Fund Multiple smaller funding streams supporting healthcare technology innovation in Tayside, including Device-Enhanced Community Healthcare (up to £100,000), Mobility Fund (up to £25,000), Access to Facilities Fund (up to £200,000), Engagement Activities Fund (up to £10,000), and Sandpit Fund (up to £50,000).
• Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE) Workshops Community engagement workshops held across Tayside locations to involve patients, carers, and members of the public in defining Grand Challenge themes and co-designing healthcare technology solutions that address real community barriers.
• Regulatory Affairs Education Programme Educational webinars and training programmes on medical device regulatory requirements, FMEA risk analysis, pitching for investment, and other medtech topics, delivered in partnership with InnoScot Health's 20+ years of regulatory affairs expertise spanning UKCA/CE marking, FDA submissions, and ISO certifications.
• Facility Access Programme Provision of access to specialised research and lab facilities including the £6M-funded Medical Device Manufacturing Centre (MDMC), the Health Informatics Centre (HIC) with ISO27001-certified secure data environment, and unique Thiel cadaveric simulation facilities for realistic clinical testing of medical devices, funded through the Access to Facilities Fund.
• Tay Health Tech Conference and Networking Events Annual conference and networking events bringing together academia, industry, health and social care practitioners, civic bodies, and the public to share innovations, project showcases, and collaboration opportunities across the Tayside healthcare technology ecosystem.

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Heriot-Watt UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead institution of the PBIAA. Host to School of Engineering & Physical Sciences where Tay Health Tech is based. Professor Marc Desmulliez is co-Lead of Tay Health Tech and manages the £6M-funded Medical Device Manufacturing Centre.
• University of DundeecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-lead institution of the PBIAA. Professor Mike MacDonald is co-Lead of Tay Health Tech and Chair of Biomedical Photonics. Provides access to Medical Device Manufacturing Centre, Health Informatics Centre (HIC), and Thiel cadaver facilities.
• NHS TaysidecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey healthcare partner providing clinical expertise, representation on Steering Board, and access to NHS staff for Grand Challenge projects. Two large hospitals including Ninewells, one of Europe's largest teaching hospitals.
• University of GlasgowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university contributing researchers to Grand Challenges including Prof. Sandy Cochran (Co-lead, Centre for Medical and Industrial Ultrasonics) and Prof. David Lowe (Clinical Director Innovation).
• University of St AndrewscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university with Dr David Harris-Birtill (Senior Lecturer, Health Informatics Research Theme) and Prof. Graham Turnbull (organic semiconductor lasers and photonics research).
• Edinburgh Napier UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner university with Prof. Alison Porter-Armstrong (Professor of Healthcare Technology Innovation) leading TakeTen Grand Challenge project.
• InnoScot HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare innovation agency providing regulatory affairs expertise with 20+ years experience. Elaine Gemmell serves as Head of Regulatory Affairs and provides education programme on medical device regulations.
• Scottish EnterprisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomic development agency with Dr Ben Conway (Future Industries Specialist) providing support for companies and organisations within Life Sciences/Human Health.
• SHARE (Scottish Health Research Register)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHARE connects researchers with patients interested in research participation. Used for recruiting participants for PPIE workshops and clinical studies. Claire Scott is National Programme Manager.
• BioDundeecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerLife sciences and healthcare network coordinator in Dundee. Karen Duncan serves as Business Development Officer and BioDundee coordinator.
• Dundee City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivic partner providing regional support and economic development alignment. Karen Duncan serves as Business Development Officer.
• Angus CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCivic partner providing regional support for Tayside innovation ecosystem.
• Dundee and Angus CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFurther education partner with Steph Toms (Director of Curriculum and Partnerships) leading academic departments and overseeing Tay Cities Regional Deal projects.
• NHS LothianminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGrahame Cumming serves as NHS Lothian Innovation Champion and Advisory Board Chair. Provides senior NHS management expertise.
• NHS GrampianminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHazel Dempsey serves as Programme Lead for North of Scotland Innovation Hub, bringing healthcare innovation experience across acute and public health settings.
• Public Health ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFatim Lakha serves as Consultant in Public Health Medicine, providing public health expertise to the consortium.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Health Innovation Manchester: An Academic Health Science Network-equivalent serving Greater Manchester that funds, evaluates and spreads health innovations across an integrated care system with industry, NHS and university partners. Highly comparable as a regional health innovation accelerator with triple-helix partnerships.
• Health Innovation Yorkshire & Humber: Regional health innovation organisation that connects NHS, academia and industry to accelerate adoption of proven innovations. Mirrors Tay Health Tech's place-based approach to clinical translation and adoption across a defined regional footprint.
• Scottish Health Innovations Ltd (SHIL): NHS Scotland's dedicated medical technology translation arm, based in Livingston, operating with a similar mission of accelerating NHS-derived innovation into commercial products. Directly comparable as a Scotland-focused health technology commercialisation intermediary with regulatory and IP expertise.
• NHS Research Scotland: Scotland-wide NHS research infrastructure that funds and coordinates clinical research across Scottish Health Boards, including NHS Tayside. Operates a closely analogous model of channelling public research funding to investigator-led projects within NHS Scotland, making it the closest structural peer to Tay Health Tech within the same Scottish health research ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Wellcome Trust: Large independent charitable foundation funding global health research, including medical technology and translational science. Comparable as a major third-party enabler of medical research funding at much greater scale than the Tayside PBIAA.
• Innovate UK: The UK's national innovation agency, part of UKRI, funding business-led innovation across sectors including health and life sciences. Comparable as the national-level funder that EPSRC/UKRI channels through, with a much broader sector remit than Tay Health Tech's Tayside-focused PBIAA work.
• NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research): The UK's largest funder of clinical, public health and social care research, operating across England with infrastructure including ARC, CRF and CLARHC networks. Comparable as a publicly funded research funding intermediary, but at much greater national scale and outside Scotland.

Regional players

• Northern Health Science Alliance: A north-of-England alliance of NHS Trusts, universities and AHSNs collaborating on health research and innovation across the North of England. Comparable as a place-based, multi-institution health research consortium, but operating in a different UK region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tay-health-tech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tay Health Tech