HEALTHTECH INNOVATION GATEWAY (10233)

NHS Shared Business Services Limited (NHS SBS) act in an Agency capacity for and on behalf of its customers (Approved Organisations) - existing and new.

These comprise of NHS and Social Care organisations (whether acting individually, or on behalf of, or together as members of any consortia) along with any other public or private sector bodies which NHS SBS authorises to use the resulting Framework/Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS).

NHS Shared Business Services intends to go to tender to put in place a HealthTech Innovation Gateway for the provision of Digital and Health Technology related Goods and Services supporting innovation in healthcare to be used by NHS SBS Approved Organisations.

The HealthTech Innovation Gateway is a commercial solution underpinned by a Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) and a procurement and commercial support 'service wrap' that aims to support suppliers (including innovators, start-ups and new entrants) navigate the NHS buying landscape and also streamline NHS buyers' adoption of emerging digital and health technology.

Initially, the HealthTech Innovation Gateway will focus on technologies involving healthcare related Artificial Intelligence and Extended Reality (XR), also known as Immersive Technologies (immersive computer-generated environments): • Artificial Intelligence for Healthcare is an opportunity to increase efficiency in decision making of Health and Care professional staff in varied ways.

These sets of technologies support and automate problem solving carried out by medical professionals and allow them to make quicker and better decisions which humans alone would not be able to make.

A broad range of techniques can be used to create artificially intelligent systems that carry out or augment health and care tasks, which have until now been completed by humans, or have not been possible previously; the possible techniques include but are not limited to inductive logic programming, machine learning, robotic process automation, natural language processing, computer vision, neural networks and distributed artificial intelligence. • Extended Reality or Immersive Technologies (XR) is an umbrella term that encompasses virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR).

XR enables a digital layer on top of the real world.

This can range from small changes to the physical environment, such as visual overlays, to large changes, such as entire simulated worlds.

Our Approved Organisation list of clients who access our frameworks can be found at: https://sbs.nhs.uk/proc-framework-agreements-support We are committed to working with suppliers who are dedicated to Sustainability and Social Value and there will be a significant weighting on these elements in the tender.

Requests to participate must be submitted electronically by way of completing and responding to the RFI via email to nsbs.digital@nhs.net by 12 noon Monday 16th January 2023.