Conference season

Escape room

Digital stroke tool launched

Diagnostics Theme

Concussion in sport

Events

September saw the HRC represented at a number of national conferences where the PPI programme was presented.

TBI reporter is a platform bringing together the results of large studies so that researchers can combine data and make new discoveries about traumatic brain injury causes and treatments. The annual assembly was held in Cambridge and featured presentations on injuries from domestic abuse and sports as well as an update on new projects. The HRC PPIE lead James Piercy lead a session on epilepsy after brain injury and the impact  driving bans can have on people.

The Society of British Neurosurgeons (SBNS) held a large conference in Bristol to discuss new developments in surgery and to share learning with colleagues from across the UK. The HRC were invited to present a paper on the development of the PPI outreach programme and the results of the recent survey into reward and recognition of patient collaborators.

The month ended with another discussion of our work in PPI at the British Society of physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (BSPRM) in Nottingham. With colleagues from the Healthtech Research Centre in Rehabilitation we introduced our work in PPI and outlined best practice.

Head injury escape room

An escape room has been created to highlight the realities faced by people living with a brain injury.

It was recently launched at the Ipswich headquarters of Headway Suffolk, a charity that helps people with neurological conditions.

The activity has been tested by clinicians and features various stations that simulate how a person with a brain injury perceives the world.

The charity hopes that this new experience will help people understand some of the challenges of brain injury by giving people tasks to carry out lie drawing wearing gloves or simulating poor vision and communication.

The escape room is open to everyone, at a cost of £25 per person, which will go towards the charity.

New digital stroke tool launched

A group based at the University of East Anglia have launched a new digital test for spatial neglect (CENT). Spatial Neglect can occur after a stroke and is a neurological condition, often following a right-brain stroke, where a person loses awareness of the left side of their body or the space to their left. This is not a sensory deficit but a disorder of attention and perception, leading to behaviors like only eating half a plate of food, only wearing one side of clothes, or bumping into objects on the neglected side. The condition can significantly impact a person's ability to live independently and increases their risk of injury

The test is free to download and use, with automated scoring based on a  sample of nearly 200 participants. It is sensitive to age-related changes, and performs better than traditional paper based assessments.

The test can be downloaded following a brief registration here:

Concussion in sport

A new report identifying key areas for research in sports concussion has been  published. Key UK experts came together to to better understand the risks, consequences, prevention and treatment of injuries relating to head impacts in collision sports.

Sign up to RHITE

Register for Healthcare Involvement and Technology Evaluation

Our aim is to make sure the right research is done to help patients and the public in the way they need it most. That means we need to hear from you!

By signing up for RHITE, you will receive information about relevant upcoming outreach sessions, research opportunities, workshops and surveys. These are run with clinical researchers and innovators who want to hear about your experience to help guide their research.

This register is delivered in partnership with a University of Cambridge partner, the Outcome Registry Intervention and Operation Network (ORION).

Podcasts

Hear from researchers, innovators patients and carers in the HRC podcast series

photo by Chris Lynch

We are sharing stories from people with experience of brain injury both professional and personal. In the most recent episodes we have heard from a patient, the Stroke Association and learnt about a report on brain injury after domestic abuse.

Headway East London conference

Headway East London are running a conference ‘A new me’ on Thursday 16th October

My brain my story

Encephalitis International are holding an event in York on 4th October

UKABIF summit

The UK Acquired Brain Injury Forum (UKABIF) time for change summit will take place on Monday 3rd November in Manchester, with an awards ceremony the evening before.

World Stroke day

World stroke day is 29th Oct 2025. It features events and information to raise awareness of stroke and its impacts