Our current projects

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Mytobii Communication Aid

Target: £15,000.00

We are lucky in Sheffield to have a dedicated Neuro High Dependency Unit. This ward is where the patients are so ill that they need one to one nursing. The technology to run this ward is immense. Our aim is to raise a minimum of £20,000 per year so we can fund equipment to enhance the very specialised care which they require.  We also invest in the training of nursing and technical staff.

In 2008 we want to fund a Mytobii Communication Aid. Communication with critical care patients is very difficult and is often limited to gesturing, mouthing and alphabet charts.  These devices are time consuming and frustrating to both patient and carer.  It is clear that poor communication causes anxiety in patients. Effective communication leads to improvements in the quality of care for patients, reduces anxiety and enables the patient to become involved in decisions about their care.

The Mytobii Communication Aid allows the patient to communicate through eye movements with a tablet PC. This integrated PC allows verbal communication with staff and relatives as well as internet and mobile phone access.

To see a videoclip of Mytobii in use, click on the YouTube link below:

http://www.youtube.com/user/mobiletobii. 

Laser Capture Microdissection Unit - research fundraising in Sheffield

Target: £125,000.00

Why do some people get Motor Neurone Disease while others develop Parkinson’s Disease or Alzheimer’s and some don’t get any nervous system disease at all?

Researchers in Sheffield are trying to identify the causes of common neurological degenerative diseases by comparing healthy cells with diseased ones. In doing so, they hope to identify a cure for this group of diseases which has a devastating impact on both the affected person and their families.

Research has been slow because of the lack of technology in this area. Scientists need 1000 cells from each tissue sample to identify what’s going wrong in the nerve cells of patients. To date they have had to harvest these cells individually and by hand which requires a great deal of time and manpower.

Neurocare wants to help this vital work to try to find a cure for these terrible diseases by funding a new piece of equipment called a Laser Capture Micro Dissection Unit. This will be the first machine of its kind in the UK used to investigate neurological disease.

The Department here in Sheffield is at the forefront of this type of research and urgently need our support. The equipment we want to fund is unique and has a number of advanced features:-

The Cell Laser Capture System allows scientists to harvest cells with unprecedented speed and precision. It is able to identify cells according to criteria set by the controller, and then automatically isolates the cells without further intervention.

• It pulls out specific cells linked to degenerative diseases.
• This machine does the job of 20 people; those people are then freed up to do other things.
• Treatments available to date only alleviate symptoms; they do not cure the illness. Scientists already know there will not be a one cure fits all drug. They want to develop disease specific treatments and this equipment will help them in their search for answers
• Breast cancer research has been significantly enhanced by CLCS technology and Herceptin was created directly from research using this type of machine.

Telemetry Equipment for patients with Epilepsy in Sheffield

Target: £24,000.00

Neurocare wants to fund a set of Telemetry equipment. What is this?

Our telemetry unit is the only one of its kind in the UK outside London. It is an in patient facility with four beds where patients with medically resistant epilepsy are assessed with a view to surgical treatment. It is also used for patients with undiagnosed episodic attacks including epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a debilitating disease. People with epilepsy have to live with the problem of having seizures at any time of the day or night. Seizures often come without warning and can cause huge problems in their day to day lives.

Patients can spend up to a week wired up to the video telemetry machine. This gives surgeons and neurologists detailed records of brain activity over a long period. From this information decisions are made about which patients which benefit from surgery.

90% of patients have their seizures controlled or stopped completely after receiving this treatment. Surgeons have a clearer picture about when to operate and stop seizures all together.

Neurocare is committed to supporting this work.

Bladder Scanner

Target: £8,000.00

This amazing machine is also urgently needed for patients on Hallamshire Ward N1. It measures the volume of the bladder and the quantity of residual urine by non-invasive methods and provides clear and accurate images.

Urinary tract infections are one of the most common hospital acquired infections and in some cases may be avoided by unnecessary catheterisation. By using a bladder scanner nurses can diagnose whether there is a urinary retention or bladder dysfunction and prevent inappropriate catheterisation, thus making life more comfortable for patients.

Assessment of Solitary Intracranial Mass

Target: £30,000.00

This research project is designed to investigate whether state of the art MR Imaging using sophisticated techniques that allow the researcher to measure the blood supply and biochemistry of the brain improve the diagnostic information given by the imaging to the neurosurgeon who has then to decide with the patients on the best course of treatment. The early support of Neurocare after the installation of one of the first 3T MR scanners in the UK during 2003 provided Sheffield with the first clinical brain tumour imaging service at 3T in the UK for study participants. 3T scanners are the latest generation of scanners for MR imaging of the brain and are able to produce higher resolution imaging quicker and more accurate biochemical and blood supply information than is possible at the normal strength of MR scanners, 1.5T, which have been available over the last couple of decades. The images shown here have been supplied with the consent of the patients and illustate the use of perfusion imaging that demonstrates the blood supply to the brain. They can be used to help guide the surgeon to where to take biopsies from.

Nigel Hoggard, Clinical Senior Lecturer/Honorary Consultant Neuroradiologist supplied the above information and was pleased to have an opportunity 'to thank Neurocare and the people who work so hard for it for their invaluable support'.

Transcranial Doppler Machine

Target: £24,000.00

This equipment is used in the stroke unit of the Neurology Department for patients at risk of strokes. It is used to measure intracranial blood flow in patients undergoing stroke prevention procedures and also as a diagnostic tool for younger stroke patients who may have patent foramen ovale - a form of hole on the heart that predisposes stroke.