View Menu
The Head Up Collar
The development of a novel cervical orthosis to support neck weakness due to neurological disease.
Many people with neurological conditions develop neck muscle weakness, leading to pain and restricted movement, as well as problems with swallowing, breathing and communication. The Head Up Collar developed helps to alleviate these problems.
Key Aims:
Around 5000 people in the UK live with Motor Neurone Disease (MND)/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The need for this project came directly from users and carers. The project was initially proposed by a Clinical Studies Group for MND, with support from carers and patients, with the view that the current cervical orthoses were inadequate in terms of function and comfort. The project therefore aimed to create a novel device to address these user needs.
Impact:
The project resulted in development of a CE marked class 1 medical device, the Head Up collar, which was initially trialled with 150 patients with neck weakness as a result of their neurological condition, across 10 sites in the UK and Ireland. The Head Up collar was subsequently rolled out across further NHS Trusts and worldwide including Canada, USA, Australia and Europe. It is currently on the market and available for purchase by registered professionals.
In summary, the project is a prime example of how an unmet need raised by the MND community was developed in partnership with patients to produce a product that significantly improves quality of life and independence for people living with MND.
Project team and funding:
The project was led by Prof Chris McDermott, Professor of Translational Neurology at the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) with funding from the NIHR i4i programme. It was a collaborative project between the NIHR HealthTech Research Centre in Long Term Conditions (Devices for Dignity (D4D), the University of Sheffield, the MND Association, Sheffield Hallam University and Talarmade Orthotics Ltd. D4D took a lead role with regards to project management, clinical trial management and management of regulatory intellectual property and licensing arrangements.
For more information on the Head Up Collar, please visit the University of Sheffield website below:
The Head Up collar | Neuroscience Institute | The University of Sheffield