Together for Health Equity community of practice
The team convenes a community of practice made up of people who share a common interest in tackling health inequalities and addressing health equity. It includes healthcare practitioners, academics, community leaders, patients and carers. Follow this link to find out more about how to get involved in this project delivered in partnership with Hexitime and the Health Foundation.
Healthy Hearts project
As part of Health Innovation Networks’ national focus on lipids management, we wanted to understand why heart health services are not as effective for some parts of our population. The project identified three groups as being at particular risk (Polish community, communities experiencing economic deprivation and the South Asian community). Working collaboratively with these communities and local public health colleagues, the CIWI team has improved the quality of dialogue and insight. Conversations are ongoing, with communities in Slough and Birmingham now working directly with public health colleagues to create solutions. Read a short case study about the Healthy Hearts project and our findings here.
Point-of-care test for detection of breast cancer spread
We are working with Oxford-based diagnostics start-up Seroxo on their clinical project funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), testing their LIT point-of-care test with breast cancer patients. The LIT test requires a small drop of blood from a finger prick and produces a result in ten minutes. These tell doctors how well a patient’s immune system is functioning, and can detect when a cancer patient’s disease has progressed to the metastatic stage. We were a co-applicant on this award, and are leading on the patient and public involvement PPI) work, ensuring all aspects of the research include the perspective of patients and the public.
Automated telemedicine – understanding patients’ trust and experience
An automated clinical assistant called Dora has been designed by Ufonia to improve and streamline care following routine cataract surgery. The team has tested this system with people who have a wide range of life experiences (including a partnership with My Life My Choice, an Oxfordshire-based charity for people with learning disabilities). This has provided useful feedback for the designers, including ideas for adaptations which they would find valuable. This work is now focusing on developing Dora in languages other than English.
Ibex – AI helping to detect cancer tissue samples
Ibex Medical Analytics has developed an innovation called Ibex Breast, to support pathologists and providers with artificial intelligence (AI) insights that may help improve the quality and accuracy of cancer diagnosis and reduce the time taken to get the result.
Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley brought together members of the public from seldom heard groups to discuss the use of AI in breast cancer diagnostics.
Read the report from the discussion group with men who have lived experience of breast cancer.
Read the report from the discussion group with women from African and Caribbean heritage.
Participants were positive about AI helping to speed up diagnosis and support clinicians, but emphasised the need for transparency about how AI is trained and tested.
A patient panel with those who have lived/carer experience was convened. Together they co-designed a patient information (link to leaflet) leaflet and poster.
In November 2025, Health Innovation Oxford & Thames Valley and the Centre for Personalised Medicine brought together clinicians, researchers, ethicists, technologists and public contributors to explore the opportunities and challenges of using artificial intelligence (AI) in pathology and diagnostics. Discussions highlighted AI’s potential to improve efficiency, support diagnostic accuracy and enable new approaches to risk prediction, while also raising important questions about trust, transparency, health equity, workforce impact and the strength of the evidence base. A strong theme throughout the event was that AI should enhance, rather than replace, human expertise. As one participant reflected, “Just because we can, doesn’t mean we should.” The discussion emphasised the need for careful, ethical implementation that keeps patients, clinicians and communities at its centre. Read the report.
Seroxo – Point of care testing in the sepsis pathway
As part of a National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded project, Health Innovation Oxford and Thames Valley (HIOTV) brought together clinicians and people with lived experience of sepsis to explore communication and information needs within the sepsis pathway, and gather views on Seroxo’s Leukocyte ImmunoTest (LIT™), a rapid point-of-care test designed to support earlier diagnosis. Participants highlighted the challenges of recognising and diagnosing sepsis, the importance of clear and honest communication, and the need to keep patients and families informed throughout their care. As one participant said, “It’s okay to say that you’re not sure,” reflecting the value of sharing uncertainty while maintaining trust. The findings will help inform the development of patient and clinician resources to support the future introduction of point-of-care testing for sepsis. Read our Seroxo workshop report.
Literature summaries around health inequalities and sepsis and Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) were completed.
A summary of the evidence around Sepsis and health inequalities can be downloaded here.
A summary of the evidence around Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) and health inequalities can be downloaded here.