Microsoft azure is a cloud platform designed to bring new solutions to life. The platform allows the building, running and managing applications across multiple clouds using different tools and frameworks.
Alder Hey have worked in partnership with Microsoft for a number of years operationally. Alder Hey Innovation have now taken the relationship to the next stage by forming a strategic innovation partnership to accelerate access to world class technology, services and resources from around the globe.
The partnership has enable Alder Hey to deploy a number of innovative healthcare solutions in recent months and with many more to come by combining Alder Hey unique innovation methodology with Microsoft's technological capabilities.
The two flagship projects that have been launched on Azure are CYP As One Mental Health platform and Alder Play, Alder Heys digital playground platform. The benefit of hosting these platforms on Azure was the easy access to a wide range of services and infrastructure in a secure compliant platform spanning compute, database and web services and other niche technology.
The ability to work with partners such as Mindwave on our platforms collaboratively was made simple with the ability to have a frictionless development and continuous deployment lifecycle via Azure.
Our CYP as One online resource was launched to help children, young people, parents and professionals to make referrals into partnership mental health services in Liverpool and Sefton. The new platform fully hosted on azure allows just one referral form linking a wide range of mental health services across Liverpool and Sefton, who work in partnership together.
Previously, the referral process has been long, complicated and difficult to navigate. It is the first-time mental health services have been integrated in this way in the UK. Alder Hey’s innovation team have worked closely with service users; children and young people & their families and mental health providers to develop the Sefton and Liverpool CAMHS platform that makes accessing the right mental health services much easier.
ALDERPLAY is another web platform that is fully hosted on MS Azure. ALDERPLAY has been developed and designed for three key purposes; familiarisation, distraction and reward to enhance the Alder Hey journey for children and young people. Initially an app developed on Unity it has now been transformed into a versatile web platform accessible via a web link and no longer needs to be downloaded.
Hosting ALDERPLAY on MS Azure enables us to add more functionality and new features to the platform including :
- Personalisation of ALDERPLAY with a variety of different skins designed to appeal to a wider age range.
- Pictures A customisable admin system that allows new content to be added to the platform more easily.
- A watch and learn section showcasing some of the brilliant Alder Hey content.
- Easy access to ARTI the Alder Hey AI virtual assistant.
The sky is the limit now that we have the functionality to add and develop new content for ALDERPLAY. It is our goal to continually develop ALDERPLAY so that it can become the child facing element of the wider Digital programme.
“Establishing a strategic innovation partnership with Microsoft has been a game changer for the Alder Hey Innovation Centre. “ said Kevin Bell, strategic technology, AI & Automation Advisor, Alder Hey Innovation. “ This has opened up doors to next generation technology and resources from both within Microsoft and their partners. The joint approach and focus on technological innovation for Child Health has given us some great new and novel ideas that we want to share across the globe. We currently have a vision, that Microsoft are helping us realise, for enabling more remote monitoring both in the hospital and in the community. We have some exciting developments planned in IoT, Edge Computing, AI and Remote Platforms in Azure. I look forward to seeing how we grow the partnership further and make a lasting impact on healthcare.”
Claire Liddy, Managing Director, Alder Hey Innovation, said: “ We are delighted that our 'strategic innovation agreement 'with Microsoft is accelerating the innovation programs at Alder Hey Innovation Centre. What drives us is using emerging technology for better social impact, the latest platform releases using Azure are break through use cases that using gamification to improve health and wellbeing for Children and Young People.”
For more information, or to find out how to get involved please contact innovation@alderhey.nhs.uk.