A list of the most important life-saving inventions to come out of British universities has been announced.

The Nation’s Lifesavers celebrates the top 100 academics or groups of academics whose work is saving lives and making a difference to the nation’s health and wellbeing.

The list includes robots helping to take care of the elderly, a device to help dogs communicate when cancer is present, drones to fight malaria, and artificial intelligence used to tackle heart disease.

The announcement formed part of Universities UK’s MadeAtUni campaign, which was launched last December to raise awareness of the impact of universities on families, communities and wider society. The organisation hopes that the Nation’s Lifesavers will help to highlight the role universities play beyond just those who study there.

Professor Dame Janet Beer, President of Universities UK, said:

Research taking place in universities is finding solutions to so many of the health and wellbeing issues we care about and the causes that matter.

This campaign is a chance to bring to life the wonderful and often unexpected work going on every day in our universities and to celebrate some of the people working to make a life-changing difference to us all.

The MadeAtUni campaign has attracted the support of a number of high-profile individuals, including actor James Nesbitt and Olympians Rebecca Adlington and Katherine Granger.

Katherine Grainger, who is also Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University, said:

MadeAtUni Lifesavers celebrates the researchers and their teams in universities across the country who are providing innovations, breakthroughs, cures and treatments to improve the health and wellbeing of adults and children, locally, nationally and internationally.

The list was compiled after universities were asked to nominate the individuals and groups who they felt had made the biggest contribution to health and wellbeing.

For more information on the campaign visit www.madeatuni.org.uk.

Image provided by Universities UK