Health Frontiers - TIC

Project impact

11 academic and clinical partners working across Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scotland to address shared health and care challenges

25+ digital health products and processes to be co-designed, developed, and tested in real-world clinical settings

25 MedTech SMEs engaged, supporting innovation, skills development, and economic growth across participating regions

The Health Frontiers Project focuses on transforming healthcare through three interlinked strands of research and innovation, backed by €9.1 million from the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) through the Peace Plus Programme, the Health Frontiers project is accelerating innovation across the digital health and MedTech landscape.

The Health Frontiers–Technology Innovation Centre, led by Ulster University, is a flagship crossborder hub dedicated to advancing nextgeneration digital health and medical technologies.

Aligned with Peace Plus Investment Area 2.2 – Innovation Challenge Fund, the initiative strengthens research and innovation capacity while supporting the adoption of cuttingedge technologies.

The Centre brings together leading universities, healthcare organisations, and MedTech companies from Northern Ireland, Ireland, and Scotland. This collaborative network drives innovation that enhances patient care, improves clinical systems, and supports economic growth.

Building on more than four decades of Ulster University’s leadership in health technology innovation, Health Frontiers extends the legacy of the INTERREG VA Eastern Corridor Medical Engineering Centre (ECME) partnership. By uniting expertise in engineering, computing, and clinical science, the Centre delivers meaningful impact on patient outcomes, regional prosperity, and peacebuilding through shared progress and collaboration.

Summary

The Health Frontiers Project focuses on transforming healthcare through three interlinked strands of research and innovation, backed by €9.1 million from the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) through the Peace Plus Programme, the Health Frontiers project is accelerating innovation across the digital health and MedTech landscape.

For industry, the project offers direct collaboration with leading research and clinical partners to codevelop and validate new solutions. Companies gain access to regulatory, design, and innovation expertise, supported by dedicated Peace Plus investment that helps speed up development and adoption.

For academia, Health Frontiers enables highimpact, multidisciplinary research with real clinical relevance. It strengthens crossborder collaboration, opens new funding opportunities, and supports the translation of research into practical healthcare technologies that deliver measurable outcomes.

For clinicians, healthcare systems, and communities, the project ensures technologies are shaped around real needs. It supports a shift toward digitally enabled care, improving safety, efficiency, and patient experience, while empowering people to influence innovation through participatory design and more connected, accessible services.