Centre for Healthcare Equipment & Technology Adoption (CHEATA)

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CHEATA is a contract-based support service that is uniquely embedded in the NHS so we know what it is the NHS wants from medtech developers. We can offer a range of expert-led services including building device value propositions and health economic analyses, evidence gathering and analysis, NICE engagement and regulatory advice and support for clinical evaluation reports. We have undertaken work for a range of customers from global large enterprises through to SMEs and start-up companies as well as those medtech developers in both academic institutions and the NHS. Our work covers devices both pre-UKCA/CE mark services as well as on UKCA and CE marked devices that have been on the market for years. We also offer support for those developers seeking grant-funding to finance their projects and are happy to be involved in grant submission planning.

Why the East Midlands and why CHEATA?

The East Midlands hosts a vibrant network of organisations such as Medilink Midlands and Health Innovation East Midlands, involved in developing the next generation of medical devices and CHEATA is an integral part of this network. We are also a part of the Centre For Healthcare Technologies, a unique collaboration between the University of Nottingham and Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust. We can identify and partner with a number of specialist services, both academic and clinical, to ensure you get the right support at the right stage of your project.

Why choose CHEATA – Our Expertise

The Centre for Healthcare Equipment & Technology Adoption (CHEATA) is part of Clinical Engineering at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. We offer a unique contract-based support service to clinical, academic and commercial med-tech developers to gather evidence for NHS adoption and to help our clients develop devices that are truly NHS-ready

Meet the CHEATA team


Dr Sarah Bolton – CHEATA Business Manager Sarah has been the Business Manager for CHEATA since August 2016. Prior to joining CHEATA, Sarah was responsible for Healthcare and Medical Devices at Pera Technology, a role which included project delivery, client engagement and management, project planning and management as well as bid writing for major UK and EC funding bodies. Sarah is an experienced research scientist with a background in academic and clinical inflammation research where she undertook her post-doctoral studies on inflammatory mechanisms in the brain and activation mechanisms of eosinophils in asthma. She joined AstraZeneca in 2004 as an Experimental Pathologist in the Respiratory and Inflammation Therapy area, specialising in translation pathology of COPD and asthma. After leaving AZ, Sarah worked as an independent consultant continuing the experimental pathology work for a range of academic and commercial clients.
Prof Dan Clark, OBE – Director of the NIHR Rehab HealthTech Research Centre and Healthcare Technology Innovation Lead at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Director of Healthcare Technology at the University of Nottingham Dan leads the Clinical Engineering service at Nottingham University Hospitals, one of the largest in Europe, which provides the full scope of equipment services including: device evaluation, commissioning, service and maintenance, decommissioning and disposal. He has considerable experience of evaluating new technologies and medical devices and introducing them into the healthcare setting. Dan also holds an honorary chair in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Nottingham and is co-director of the Centre for Healthcare Technologies, a unique collaborative venture between Nottingham University and NUH NHS Trust specialising in the acceleration of curiosity driven science into adopted medical technology. He also chairs the NUH NHS Trust’s Medical Devices Group and sits on a number of trust-wide risk committees. Finally, Dan was an expert member of the NICE Medical Technology Advisory Committee (MTAC) for 10 years until his "retirement" from the committee in 2019. Dan is a director and founder member of CHEATA since its inception in late 2014. Dan was awarded an OBE for Services to Clinical Engineering particularly during Covid-19 in the 2021 New Year’s Honours.
Dr Janet Bouttell-Health Economics Dr Janet Bouttell is a health economist who has worked extensively with developers of health technologies at the early stages of development. A qualified chartered accountant, Janet moved into academia in 2015. She completed an MSc in Health Technology Assessment and a PhD in HTA for developers at the University of Glasgow followed by an Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Partnership post doc with a developer of molecular diagnostic technologies. Her work has focused on methods of health technology assessment to facilitate the development of medical devices which are likely to make a clinical difference for patients and clinicians and offer value for money for the health service provider. Janet has expertise in the development of value propositions and business models and in health economic modelling.
Sinead Barker - CHEATA Programme Co-ordinator Sinead Barker Programme Co-ordinator since November 2021. Prior to joining CHEATA Sinead previously worked as a co-ordinator for Undergraduate Medical Education, with over 15 years administration experience. During her career Sinead has gained experience and skills in project management, communication, and networking. Sinead holds 2 degrees, one in Forensic Science and one in Counselling and Psychotherapy.
Beth Beeson - Consultant Clinical Engineer and Head of Service for Clinical Engineering Beth is a founder member of CHEATA and is our regulatory expert. Beth is Consultant Clinical Engineer within the Clinical Engineering department at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust. Beth is a registered Clinical Scientist (Health & Care Professions Council) and Chartered Engineer with over 10 years of experience in the field of Clinical Engineering including Medical Device Regulation, Governance, Design & Development and Medical Device Safety. Beth has considerable experience in participating in NIHR funded i4i projects that involve Nottingham University, NUH NHS Trust and SMEs from the Industry.
Dr. Alexandra Lang - Human Factors Dr Alexandra Lang is an Assistant Professor in Human Factors (HF) at the University of Nottingham, specialising in the application of HF to Health and Social care. She has previously worked for Nottingham University Hospitals Trust (NUHT) as a Human Factors Specialist, integrating human factors into practice through applied projects in clinical context, research studies and training and education. Prior to her time working for the NHS Alex was a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham. She is a member of the Human Factors Research Group and is affiliated with the Horizon Digital Economy Research Centre and NIHR funded MindTech Mental Health MedTech Co-operative. Prior to this she gained her PhD in ‘Medical Device Design for Adolescents’. Alexandra is a member of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) Healthcare Steering Committee, accredited trainer for the CIEHF Health Education England Human Factors Introductory Course and is an active member of the Faculty of Engineering Ethics Committee at the University of Nottingham.
Dr Mike Craven - Health Economics Mike provides the health economic expertise for CHEATA. He has spent over 25 years in healthcare technology assessment, electronic engineering and computer science. Mike is Senior Research Fellow with NIHR MindTech Healthcare Technology Co-operative based at the Institute of Mental Health, Nottingham Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and is also connected to the Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham. He also has extensive experience with the design and evaluation of medical devices, mobile apps and assistive technologies. Prior to joining MindTech, he was in the MATCH programme (2003-2013) researching methods and tools to ease the process of determining the value of healthcare technology innovations where he worked closely with NHS innovation partners and medical device companies and conducted Health Technology Assessments for the Centre for Evidence Based Procurement (CEP), NICE and the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS).
Lizzy Latimer - HTA and Health Economics Lizzy graduated with a BA (Honours) in Economics from the University of Liverpool, followed by a MSc in Health Economics from the University of York. She began her career as a health economist at the Royal College of Psychiatrists' Research Unit working for the National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health on NICE clinical guidelines where she was the lead health economist on the Dementia guideline. Lizzy has worked as economic adviser at the Centre for Evidence-based Purchasing carrying out literature reviews and economic analyses focussing on the economic evaluation of medical devices ranging from disposables to MRI scanners. Lizzy was a technical adviser for the NICE Medical Technologies Evaluation Programme and was involved in developing the process and methods for the Programme which included designing the submission form and selection criteria. She led the technical team on a number of medical technologies guidance. She currently works for CHEATA on a variety of projects including literature reviews and MTEP submissions.