Ng Teng Fong Healthcare Innovation Programme

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The Ng Teng Fong Healthcare Innovation Programme (NTF HIP) was established in 2015, with a $52 million funding from the family of the late Mr. Ng Teng Fong. The aim of the programme is to drive value through healthcare innovation, training, and support improvements to patient care.

To date, NTF HIP has supported more than 200 projects.

Featured Projects

FY24 CHI Fellowship

This 19-week signature programme aims to equip emerging healthcare leaders with the capabilities to drive clinical innovation and digital transformation, while fostering collective leadership and systems thinking. It also promotes population health through innovative community-based projects and builds a collaborative network across industries and borders for sustainable healthcare solutions.

Following the programme, TTSH Fellows initiated impactful projects with measurable results:

Improving Histology Turnaround Time: 20% of uncomplicated histology cases used to take 2 or more working days to report. Using digital pathology, this was reduced to ≤ 10% of cases taking 2 or more working days to report.
Enhancing Exercise Adherence in Weight Management: The project introduced gaming component and tailored prompts, which raised adherence to home exercise from 50% to 80%.

The programme received an average satisfaction rating of 88%, with participants valuing the comprehensive depth of content, coverage of learning experience, and the valuable opportunities to network with innovators and partners from overseas.

3D-Printed Insoles for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Care

Through a collaboration between Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Skin Research Institute of Singapore, and EOS Singapore, the project aimed to develop a single-layer, multi-density 3D printed insole for pressure offloading in patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers (DFU).

This 1-year proof-of-concept (POC) project used additive manufactured thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to produce custom-fit insoles. The insoles, being customisable and less bulky, show strong potential for improving DFU management and advancing personalised medical devices.

Figure above illustrates a single-layer, multi-density 3D printed offloading insole for patients with DFUs.

Innovation Highlight

In The News

Commentary: Caregiver collapse is real and hospitals can smoothen the transition home
27 Feb 2022, CNA Lifestyle
New healthcare innovation centre will mean faster admissions, better solutions for patients
09 May 2019, Today
$52 million charity fund to raise standards of patient care
23 Jan 2016, The Straits Times

Past Projects

CHI Innovate 2024

Under the theme “Sustainability in Healthcare”, CHI Innovate 2024 explored the relationship between healthcare and the environment, while fostering innovative solutions to inspire and galvanise us to be “good ancestors”.

The 2-day conference, held on 4 and 5 July 2024, welcomed over 800 participants and guests, 42 speakers and more than 30 sponsors and exhibiting partners.

The Guest of Honour, Minister Grace Fu officially launched the CHI Sustainability Academy during the opening ceremony. This new initiative aims to unite local and international partners to foster a culture of sustainability in healthcare.

The Academy will educate and inspire leaders and professionals across Singapore and the region to take collective action towards sustainable healthcare.

Design and Development of Virtual Reality (VR) to Enhance Online Learning Experience

The transition to digital learning has significantly enhanced accessibility to training, enabling individuals to learn at their own pace and convenience. Despite its numerous advantages, digital learning often lacks the ability to effectively integrate theoretical knowledge with hands-on practical experience. Recognising the importance of preserving the convenience of digital learning while addressing the gap between theory and practice, the team explored Virtual Reality (VR) technology as a mean to augment digital learning experiences.

The Completed VR project successfully bridged the gap between theory and practice, resulting in 100% of participants reporting a deeper understanding of concepts, surpassing the initial target of 80%. Participants also felt more confident and better equipped to apply their knowledge in their respective roles within TTSH.

The project was awarded ‘Recognition of Excellence 2024’ at OpenGov Asia 2024 and featured in GovInsider and Healthcare Asia.

Following the successful launch, all TTSH staff can now book VR sessions through TTSH Facilities Booking System (FBS). Two staff members can take part in the VR experience at the same time.

Personalised Cardiometabolic Risk Management: Predict to Prevent (P2P)

The project aims to perform patient-centric early risk characterisation, develop effective and efficient methods to measure the status of vascular health, and optimise therapeutic strategies to prevent disease and maintain vascular health. It is a 3-year project that started on 1 January 2023.

Key highlights of the Achievements:

a) The study had secured external funding of $1,999,900 from the Tanoto Medical Research Fund, in May 2024 for the related project titled: The role of Colchicine in preventing Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease in Type 2 Diabetes as part of intention to develop personalised intervention.

b) The team recently published a study on the development and validation of HealthVector Diabetes titled: A digital twin model incorporating generalized metabolic fluxes to identify and predict chronic kidney disease in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

HealthVector Diabetes is a software tool designed to predict the 3-year risk of chronic kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes.

They received an additional funding of $1,000,000 from the National Health Innovation Centre (NHIC) and Digital Health Accelerator, as well as approval from Health and Services Authority (HSA).

HealthVector Diabetes will be implemented as a pilot in early 2025 at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore General Hospital, and selected polyclinics for potential clinical adoption. It will be used alongside patients’ routine screening at no extra cost to them.