Healthcare Technology and Digital Interventions
Healthcare Technology and Digital Interventions is recognised for pioneering research in the areas of developing innovative healthcare technologies and devices, AI-empowered healthcare solutions and digital health interventions with scientific and socioeconomic impacts to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities.
About the theme
Healthcare Technology and Digital Interventions cluster, at Coventry University aims to develop and apply various methodologies that will elucidate the complexity of developmental change in childhood and adolescence to chronic disorders and their complications in adulthood.
Its main focus will be to use data from multiple longitudinal cohorts to understand the interplay of environmental and lifestyle factors on morbidity or/and mortality of chronic disorders from before conception through old age.
We will use our findings to develop and test population-based and targeted simple to complex interventions that will help in the prevention and improvement of various chronic diseases globally. We will collaborate with existing cohort studies and develop new cohorts to explore the mechanisms of various chronic diseases, particularly cardio-respiratory and metabolic diseases.
The cluster aims to involve laying the groundwork to strengthen current global partnerships for long-term study with a vision for future research by gathering preliminary data, demonstrating the study's feasibility in new geographical settings, and highlighting the potential impact on public health guidelines and policies.
We plan to build a North-South partnership in research as it is important to address global health problems with holistic solutions that can make a profound and enduring impact on GLOBAL HEALTH.
Healthcare Sensing Technology
This sub-cluster aims to research and develop innovative healthcare technologies, devices and solutions with scientific and socioeconomic impacts to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. This will be through conducting globally significant and interdisciplinary research with different partners and stakeholders along the pathway of technology development and commercialization. We bring together industry, clinicians, policy makers, academics, and innovators to stimulate creative and transformational approaches, and aim to become a centre of international excellence.
Core research areas:
- Innovative wearable technologies and devices with physiological measurements and/or imaging, advanced bio-signal processing, computer modelling and big data analysis;
- Advanced radio frequency (RF) sensing and signal processing for physiological measurements.
- Research and development of novel biosensors, systems and methods to provide sensitive biomarkers for the early and accessible detection of chronic disease;
Innovative and interdisciplinary data science solutions for analysing/interpreting healthcare data using machine learning and artificial intelligence; - Smart mobile health system and mobile phone delivered interventions for chronic disease management, decision support systems, behavioural change management, as well as the use of latest 5G technology to transform how healthcare is delivered;
- Co-creation, prototyping and user-centred healthcare technology evaluation services to entrepreneurial individuals and companies developing new healthcare technologies.
Digital Health Interventions
Research within this sub-cluster centres around the principles of self-management and person-centred approaches to behaviour change. We work closely with national and international stakeholders, e.g., patients, public, NHS, and charities, to understand their needs and co-design evidence-based digital solutions.
We combine theory-driven research, traditional methodologies, innovative techniques and AI to produce meaningful, practical healthcare solutions. Working with diverse stakeholders and communities, we adapt our research approaches to ensure cultural humility and principles of equality, diversity and inclusion are embedded in our methods and outputs.
Supported self-management empowers people to recognise, treat and manage their own physical and mental health conditions. Our research embeds techniques to help people develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to do so. Key components of this approach include peer support, person-led goal setting, heath coaching and education, and self-compassion.
We work alongside people living with, and affected by a long-term condition, to co-develop personalised self-management support interventions for:
- Cancer
- Mental Health
- Respiratory conditions
- Musculoskeletal conditions
- Reproductive, sexual and maternal health
- Neurological conditions and acquired brain injury
Project list
Cluster Team
Professor Zheng is a leading research expert in innovative healthcare technology development through the pathway of physiological measurement, bio-signal processing, and technology evaluation.
He has published over 200 peer-reviewed scientific papers and earned his international reputation in research and development of novel cardiovascular technologies and devices to address unmet clinical needs, particularly in novel blood pressure and arterial stiffness measurement techniques, and recent developments of wearable devices and IoT monitoring system using unique waveform characteristics derived from physiological signals for monitoring respiration rate, predicting pre-term labour and pregnancy induced hypertension, and developing big-data- centric hearing impairment rehabilitation solution.
He has also been well recognized for his enthusiasm in promoting knowledge and technology exchanges, building up educational and research collaborations, and facilitating technology adoption in developing countries, including China, India, Jordan and Nigeria.
Dr Syed Aziz Shah was appointed as an Associate Professor in the Research Centre for Intelligent Healthcare (CIH) at Coventry University (CU) in 2020. He is an interdisciplinary researcher focusing on advanced radio frequency (RF) sensor design and signal processing using RF and THz sensing, specifically for physiological measurements. He is highly motivated to utilize and develop advanced technologies that address the unmet healthcare challenges of unobtrusive monitoring of older adult daily activities for health and wellbeing purposes.
He is recipient of UK's prestigious Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) New Investigator Award. Dr. Aziz also received the endorsement of UK exceptional talent candidate (‘Emerging Leader’) in year 2018, for the pioneering work in the field of wireless sensing for remote patient monitoring. These prestigious awards are given to early-career, world-leading innovators and scientists from the Royal Academy of Engineering.
Dr Xu is an Assistant Professor at Research Centre for Intelligent Healthcare, in the cluster of Healthcare Sensing Technology. Her research has spanned a wide range of areas within Biomedical Engineering and Electronic Engineering, especially developing advanced signal processing approaches for healthcare applications.
Dr Xu is currently working on the research topics of Preterm Birth Prediction and Pregnancy Monitoring. Her research vision is to reduce health inequalities, particularly to reduce stillbirth, maternal and neonatal mortality, improve the awareness of the group of pregnant women and enhance the engagement of pregnant women with healthcare interventions. She has successfully led the projects funded by, e.g., NIHR, UKRI, as the project lead, collaborating with clinicians and midwives at UHCW NHS Trust and Birmingham City University.
Her previous research has also focused on implementing mathematical theories into clinical neuroscience, where EEG and EMG were used to develop novel algorithms to aid the classification and stratification of patients with movement disorders.
Dr Wright's research background is in cognitive psychology and has interests in neuropsychology, neuroscience and psychosocial outcomes after acquired brain injury (ABI). Her recent work has focussed on cognitive ageing, sexual wellbeing and cognitive function in older adults and peer-supported self-management of long-term conditions including acquired brain injury (ABI), cancer and Long COVID. She is PI on an NIHR-funded project developing and testing a digital programme to support sexual wellbeing after ABI.
Professor Turner has 25+years of research experience in self-management for long-term conditions, and an international track-record of developing and evaluating digital interventions for psychological wellbeing.
He is the co-founder of The Hope Programme and non-executive director of Hope For The Community CIC (H4C). He is the UK lead on international RCT investigating remote monitoring and self-management for cardiovascular patients and co-PI on the NIHR-funded HOPE4ABI project.
