BAPRAS Surgeon receives British Empire Medal

BAPRAS surgeon to receive a British Empire Medal (BEM) for the innovation of her augmented reality platform, Proximie while working at the Royal Free Hospital, London.

Nadine co-founded Proximie in 2015 following the realisation that demand for healthcare was outweighing the number of doctors available to care for patients. The software allows doctors to virtually experience any clinical setting in the world and allows specialists from all corners of the globe to teach and learn from one another in order to develop and improve procedures and techniques. Proximie has been extremely successful, allowing treatment to take place locally without the need to travel, which can prove a burden for both the hospital and the patient.

Proximie has been adopted by a number of NHS hospitals, as well as numerous other healthcare providers throughout the world. It has even been received the Royal Society of Medicine Innovation and eHealth award, as well as the Best Augmented Reality Industry Technology award at London Tech Week among others.

Upon learning she was to receive a BEM, Nadine said “I am incredibly proud and humbled to receive this award so early in my career. I’m passionate about innovation in healthcare and how we can leverage technology to improve the care our patients receive here in the UK and across the world. The innovation of Proximie has been very much a collective effort and it wouldn’t have got to where it is now without the contributions of the whole team.”

“I see access to high quality healthcare as a fundamental right of every individual wherever they live. The most exciting thing today is that with emerging technologies like augmented reality and virtual reality, that right doesn’t have to be something that is out of reach. We really can make it happen.”

The Royal Free Hospital offered their congratulations to Nadine, with their group chief executive Sir David Sloman stating: “This is a richly deserved award for Nadine – huge congratulations on such a fantastic achievement. Nadine’s work is at the leading edge of digital technology in the NHS and is helping us to improve people’s health and care and improve value for tax payer’s money.”

Nadine previously spoke at TedWomen2017 where she outlined her vision of the future of surgery, which has been viewed over one million times. When not sharing her ideas at talks around the globe, Nadine undertakes prestigious roles including serving as a council member of the both the Royal College of Surgeons Future of Surgery Commission and the Royal Society of Medicine plastic surgery section. She is of course also a current member of BAPRAS, with a role in the Innovation Special Interest Group.