Media Monitoring: 18th – 24th February

£5 million awarded to 22 projects to drive forward cutting-edge treatments and technologies to support veterans’ healthcare
The funding will help spur innovation, ensure that treatments are informed by the latest research and developments in clinical care, and bring the best of UK science and technology to the forefront of veterans health
Scientists at the University of Birmingham will use biomarkers in blood and saliva from veterans who have suffered traumatic brain injury to develop an algorithm to predict prognosis and treatment

NHS staff across England have reduced the number of patients waiting more than a year and a half by over a quarter in just one month, despite the busiest winter ever
The total number waiting more than 18 months has fallen by 27% from 54,382 on 15 January to 39,903 as of 12 February
Over 70 NHS trusts in England now have fewer than 100 patients waiting more than a year and a half, ahead of the ambition to virtually eliminate these waits by April

Research has shown that despite this number, support for the NHS’s founding principles remain strong
Moreover, only 33% of people believe that the NHS is providing a good service
62% believe that NHS care will worsen over the next year, up from 39% who agreed with that sentiment last year

The test, powered by AI, can identify respiratory diseases such as flu and COVID in just five minutes from a nasal or throat swab
Current tests are either quick but less accurate or lab-based and therefore time consuming, also meaning that people can infect others while waiting for results
The test utilises molecular labelling, computer vision and machine learning, forming a universal diagnostic imaging platform which looks directly at a patient sample and identify which pathogen is present in a matter of seconds

Millions of people in England who have been sent a lifesaving home testing kit that can detect early signs of bowel cancer are being encouraged to use it and return it, as part of a new, first-of-a-kind NHS campaign
It aims to increase uptake of the home testing kit to ensure more people are diagnosed with bowel cancer at the earliest stage, when they’re nine times more likely to survive
Latest data shows the proportion of people choosing to participate in bowel screening has increased to 70.3% – the highest on record

England’s NICE is ditching the rulebook in favor of “failing forward faster” when it comes to tackling medtech innovations

Tune into this Guardian podcast as Ian Sample speaks to the Guardian’s science correspondent Hannah Devlin about genetically modified bacteria, the potential of plant toxins, and why scientists are hunting for viruses known as ‘bacteriophages’ in birdbaths and sewers