SOUTH YORKSHIRE’S MAYOR AND SOUTH YORKSHIRE DIGITAL HEALTH HUB UNVEIL INVESTMENT IN HEALTH TECH RESEARCH AND TRAINING BY GOOGLE TO TACKLE INEQUALITIES 

• South Yorkshire’s Mayor Oliver Coppard announces that Google has invested in groundbreaking health tech research and upskilling for the South Yorkshire region.
• The first in a series of pioneering studies will assess if smartphone sensors could aid the detection and prevention of illnesses, alleviating NHS pressures.
• The South Yorkshire Combined Mayoral Authority will work with Google, alongside the £4m South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, to fund digital skills training scholarships and apprenticeships for local students and businesses.
• This partnership brings together academic experts, medical professionals, local government and the technology sector, to tackle the region’s stark healthcare inequalities.

1st February 2024, Sheffield – South Yorkshire’s Mayor, the University of Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are working with Google to invest in groundbreaking research, apprenticeships and digital skills training across the South Yorkshire region. These academic, medical, and local government institutions have come together to form the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub, a digital innovation centre that will use this investment to help tackle the health inequalities in the region and drive economic growth.

As part of this, the South Yorkshire Digital Health Hub will work with Google on a series of pioneering research opportunities. The first of these – the PUMAS study – aims to understand whether Pixel smartphone sensors that detect light, radar, and electrical signals from the heart could aid the detection of common conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol and chronic kidney disease. Early detection of these conditions could help people to make informed lifestyle choices which could slow down and even in some cases prevent their progression.