Manchester NHS and MHRA launch sandbox to test AI medical devices in real settings

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust has partnered with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to launch a health innovation sandbox that will evaluate emerging technologies, including AI-enabled medical devices, in real NHS environments.

The Manchester Sandbox is the first major programme under the partnership and will deploy selected technologies into day-to-day care to generate evidence on their ongoing safety, effectiveness and impact. The first tools are expected to include AI devices that identify patients at greater risk of complications from long-term conditions, allowing earlier support and treatment.

The programme brings providers, regulators and developers together earlier in the innovation process and tests proportionate, lifecycle-based approaches to regulation. Learning will be shared across the NHS and could shape how proven technologies are adopted nationally.

MFT chief executive Mark Cubbon said patients should benefit from innovation quickly without choosing between access and safety. MHRA chief executive Lawrence Tallon said the programme would help show where AI and other technologies can make the biggest difference. A roundtable is planned later this year, and the MHRA will invite expressions of interest from medical device developers for the next phase.