The Ng Teng Fong Healthcare Innovation Programme (NTF HIP) was established in 2015, with a $52 million funding from the family of the late Mr. Ng Teng Fong. The aim of the programme is to drive value through healthcare innovation, training, and support improvements to patient care.
To date, NTF HIP has supported more than 200 projects. These are categorised into 2 pillars with selected updates below:
Pillar A: Thought Leadership and Capability Building
CHI Innovate 2024
Under the theme “Sustainability in Healthcare”, CHI Innovate 2024 explored the relationship between healthcare and the environment, while fostering innovative solutions to inspire and galvanise us to be “good ancestors”.
The 2-day conference, held on 4 and 5 July 2024, welcomed over 800 participants and guests, 42 speakers and more than 30 sponsors and exhibiting partners.
The Guest of Honour, Minister Grace Fu officially launched the CHI Sustainability Academy during the opening ceremony. This new initiative aims to unite local and international partners to foster a culture of sustainability in healthcare.
The Academy will educate and inspire leaders and professionals across Singapore and the region to take collective action towards sustainable healthcare.
Pillar B: Innovation and Research
Design and Development of Virtual Reality (VR) to Enhance Online Learning Experience
The transition to digital learning has significantly enhanced accessibility to training, enabling individuals to learn at their own pace and convenience. Despite its numerous advantages, digital learning often lacks the ability to effectively integrate theoretical knowledge with hands-on practical experience. Recognising the importance of preserving the convenience of digital learning while addressing the gap between theory and practice, the team explored Virtual Reality (VR) technology as a mean to augment digital learning experiences.
The Completed VR project successfully bridged the gap between theory and practice, resulting in 100% of participants reporting a deeper understanding of concepts, surpassing the initial target of 80%. Participants also felt more confident and better equipped to apply their knowledge in their respective roles within TTSH.
The project was awarded ‘Recognition of Excellence 2024’ at OpenGov Asia 2024 and featured in GovInsider and Healthcare Asia.
Following the successful launch, all TTSH staff can now book VR sessions through TTSH Facilities Booking System (FBS). Two staff members can take part in the VR experience at the same time.
Personalised Cardiometabolic Risk Management: Predict to Prevent (P2P)
The project aims to perform patient-centric early risk characterisation, develop effective and efficient methods to measure the status of vascular health, and optimise therapeutic strategies to prevent disease and maintain vascular health. It is a 3-year project that started on 1 January 2023.
Key highlights of the Achievements:
a) The study had secured external funding of $1,999,900 from the Tanoto Medical Research Fund, in May 2024 for the related project titled:
The role of Colchicine in preventing Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Type 2 Diabetes as part of intention to develop personalised intervention.
b) The team recently published a study on the development and validation of HealthVector Diabetes titled:
A digital twin model incorporating generalized metabolic fluxes to identify and predict chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus.
HealthVector Diabetes is a software tool designed to predict the 3-year risk of chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.
They received an additional funding of $1,000,000 from the National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC) and Digital Health Accelerator, as well as approval from Health and Services Authority (HSA).
HealthVector Diabetes will be implemented as a pilot in early 2025 at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, and selected polyclinics for potential clinical adoption. It will be used alongside patients’ routine screening at no extra cost to them.
In The News
$52 million charity fund to raise standards of patient care
- 23 Jan 2016, The Straits Times