EXETER, UK – A collaboration between the Exeter-based NIHR HealthTech Research Centre (HRC) in Sustainable Innovation, and UK HealthTech company Sanome, has secured an Innovate UK SMART grant of more than £300,000 to further develop an AI-powered clinical decision support platform that enables earlier detection of hospital-acquired infections.
MEMORI analyses clinical data in real-time to accurately predict the risk of hospital-acquired infections, alerting clinical teams up to seven days before signs of infection appear. Initial studies have shown that it outperforms the NHS-standard National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) system in detecting deterioration.
With this new investment, the partnership will focus on analysing additional clinical data sources to provide more accurate insights, strengthening integration with Electronic Patient Record systems and increasing predictive accuracy by a further 20%. It will also improve explainability and machine-learning performance, increasing transparency and reassurance for clinical teams and healthcare organisations.
The enhanced platform will be trialled across multiple wards at the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, addressing one of the NHS’s largest clinical and financial challenges: HAIs.
HAIs – such as pneumonia, MRSA and C. difficile – account for over 7.1 million excess bed days and cost the NHS an estimated £2.7 billion each year. Research shows that up to 55% of infections may be preventable if identified earlier.
This collaboration, supported by the NIHR Exeter Biomedical Research Centre and University of Exeter, will help pave the way for broader rollout across the NHS, by establishing a national framework on how real-time data and AI can be used safely to transform patient outcomes at scale.
Dr Nick Kennedy, Digital Innovation and AI Theme Lead at the NIHR HRC in Sustainable Innovation and Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Royal Devon, added: “Hospital-acquired infections remain one of the biggest threats to patient safety, particularly for vulnerable patients with complex conditions. That means early intervention is vital. By co-designing MEMORI with the support of Innovate UK, we are proud to be among the first to test such technology and show how AI can support clinicians, transform patient care and ultimately save lives.”
Benedikt von Thüngen, CEO and Founder of Sanome, said: “Our mission is to prevent deterioration before it becomes life-threatening. MEMORI shows how real-world NHS data, when safely and securely unlocked, can be transformed into actionable bedside insights that change outcomes using the power of multimodal AI. Working with the Exeter HealthTech Research Centre, with support from Innovate UK, allows us to demonstrate both the clinical and system-wide benefits of AI in one of the UK’s leading NHS Trusts.”
Chris Sawyer, Innovation Lead Digital Health, Innovate UK added: “Supporting the safe introduction of AI into frontline NHS care is a vital step towards building a more resilient and patient-centred health service. This partnership with Sanome and Royal Devon is a strong example of how innovation and clinical expertise can come together to tackle long-standing challenges like hospital-acquired infections.”
Early findings from the live deployment are expected later in 2026, with the potential for wider adoption across other NHS organisations.
