Q-BIOMED affiliated researchers awarded NIHR funding to accelerate quantum healthcare innovations
Q-BIOMED, and researchers at affiliated institutions, have been awarded funding for nine projects as part of the 17 projects funded through the Invention for Innovation (i4i) FAST Quantum Technology funding opportunity.
Open to applicants from the host institutions and partners of Q-BIOMED and QuSIT, the two quantum research hubs that focus on healthcare applications co-funded by the NIHR, the aim of this funding is to support the early-stage development of quantum technologies with clear potential healthcare applications, accelerating translation towards use within the NHS.
“This funding is a major step forward in bringing quantum technology to patients, cementing the UK as Europe’s leader in quantum health innovation. By investing in these 17 projects, we are fast-tracking tools that can diagnose illness earlier and provide life-changing breakthroughs.
These innovations will transform our health system and improve patients’ lives in the future, building on the momentum of two decades of NIHR-funded research.”
This award highlights Q‑BIOMED’s central role in the UK’s national quantum healthcare research landscape. The FAST programme specifically recognises innovations that can deliver real‑world health system or patient benefit, positioning selected projects for future clinical translation.
Quantum-enabled memory enhancement with transcranial temporal interference stimulation
Professor Ray Dolan, UCL, along with Dr Pierre Vassiliadis and Dr Sofoklis Goulis, are investigating the use of transcranial temporal interference stimulation (tTIS), a non-invasive brain stimulation technique, coupled with quantum-enabled neuroimaging with magnetoencephalography for memory enhancement.
The project builds on preliminary work indicating that hippocampal tTIS can enhance memory, although its effect varies across individuals, perhaps reflecting natural variability in hippocampal rhythm. The team plans to use quantum sensing to examine the electrophysiological effects of tTIS and how these depend on the individual hippocampal rhythms. The overarching goal is to develop a precise and scalable neuromodulation technique that can enhance and stabilise human memory. The approach may have future applications in treating memory impairment, including in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Quantum-enabled scans for prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is classified as either aggressive – fast growing and at high risk of spreading – or indolent, where the cancer is slow growing and the risk of spread is low. Aggressive cancer requires immediate treatment, whereas indolent cancer is often managed with active surveillance to avoid unnecessary treatment side effects. However, distinguishing these can be challenging with existing technologies.
With this new funding, researchers led by Rafat Chowdhury at UCL will test a new quantum-enabled MRI technology that may help make prostate cancer scans more informative by showing how active a tumour is.
While the study will not be used to guide patient care at this stage, it will provide an insight into whether this technology produces dependable results across different scanners and hospitals, laying the groundwork for future use in patients.
OPMs for sleep monitoring in epilepsy
Measuring sleep in people with epilepsy is very important as it can help clinicians to identify seizure triggers, diagnose sleep disorders (which are twice as common in people with epilepsy) and improve overall seizure control.
In this proposal, led by Q-BIOMED Deputy Director Dr Umesh Vivekananda (UCL), researchers aim to combine state of the art quantum biosensing of brain activity using OP-MEG and machine learning approaches to automatically detect the stages of natural sleep and how this is affected in epilepsy.
Quantum tools for measuring immune responses to biologic therapies
Biologic therapies (drugs derived from living organisms, like proteins or genes) have proven effective for treating symptoms of the chronic autoimmune condition Rheumatoid Arthritis. However, 30-50% of patients do not respond to the first biologic they try and must take the therapy for several months before learning if it is effective.
In this project, Dr Siyu Fan, Dr Adam Creamer and Q-BIOMED Co-Director Professor Dame Molly Stevens at the University of Oxford, will develop a quantum sensing tool to measure the in vitro response of patient's immune cells to currently available biologic therapies, with the long-term goal of enabling faster and more accurate therapy selection for people living with Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Quantum-enabled eye imaging
Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a safe imaging method that uses light to create very detailed pictures of the eye, but current machines are large and are usually only found in hospitals.
In collaboration with our industry partner Siloton, Dr Lola Solebo and Dr Marinko Sarunic (both UCL) will develop a compact, quantum-enabled anterior segment OCT device that allows children with potentially blinding disorders to be monitored in the community or even from home, reducing the need for hospital visits.
Low-cost readers for nanodiamond-enhanced lateral flow tests
Lateral flow tests play a critical role in diagnosing disease, preventing transmission and managing health. However, traditional gold nanoparticle–based tests often lack sensitivity to the low biomarker levels required for early diagnosis and treatment monitoring.
Using nitrogen-vacancy centre diamonds as fluorescent labels, our researchers have developed lateral flow tests that can achieve a 103-105-fold improvement in detection limits compared to gold nanoparticles. In order to move these tests beyond the lab, this project (led by Dr Felix Donaldson, UCL) will aim to accelerate the development of low-cost deployable systems capable of measuring these nanodiamond lateral flow tests. This will lay the groundwork for their future use in settings such as GP surgeries, pharmacies and community centres.
Testing complex samples with nanodiamond diagnostics
A big advantage of using nanodiamond labelling in diagnostic tests is that it works particularly well with real‑world patient samples. Samples such as blood and urine often produce variable background fluorescence, but instead of being confused by this background ‘noise’, this technique actually becomes more effective. This means that tests could work directly on complex samples without extra processing, saving time and money and making tests quicker and easier to use.
This project, led by Dr Benjamin Miller and Dr Eleni Nastouli (both UCL), will test how well this approach works using real patient samples across a range of sample types. This could help increase access to ultra-sensitive, rapid diagnostic tests in primary care settings.
Quantum sensing to detect neurophysiological signatures of early Alzheimer's disease
There is a lack of precise tests capable of detecting the earliest functional brain changes associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Such a measure could support earlier diagnosis and track symptom progression and response to the emerging treatments.
This project aims to lay the groundwork for such a readout. UCL researchers Professor Gareth Barnes, Katarzyna Rudzka, Professor Neil Burgess, and Professor Dennis Chan will use wearable quantum sensing technology (OP-MEG) to detect changes in the entorhinal–hippocampal circuit, one of the brain systems affected early by Alzheimer’s disease pathology.
The study builds on evidence that spatial navigation, a behaviour supported by this circuit, is impaired in the earliest stages of this disease. Patients and public will be consulted on the usability of quantum sensing for potential future clinical applications.
Intensive care unit risk prediction
Researchers at UCL are developing a hybrid quantum–classical decision support tool (the Quantum-Enhanced Clinical Decision Support System – Q-CDSS) to predict critical events like cardiac arrest in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. This will help clinicians interpret complex data to enable faster, more accurate interventions.
Towards a quantum enabled future
These NIHR i4i FAST awards mark a significant milestone for Q-BIOMED researchers and strengthens the Hub’s position at the forefront of quantum biomedical sensing. As the funded projects progress over the coming months, they will help pave the way toward novel quantum-enabled technologies that could one day benefit NHS patients across the UK.
“Quantum technology has the potential to transform the way we prevent, diagnose and treat disease, helping patients receive faster, better care while supporting our mission to build an NHS fit for the future.
Through this £1.65 million investment, we’re backing some of the UK’s brightest researchers to turn cutting-edge science into practical innovations that could help detect cancer earlier, support people to monitor long-term conditions from home, and give clinicians better tools to make life-saving decisions
This will also strengthen the UK’s position as a global leader in quantum technologies, creating high-skilled jobs and supporting economic growth. ”