Spotlight: CareBrain – using sector-trained AI to support frontline care
The CHI-Zone small grants programme for CareTech Developers supports innovators to explore, develop and test digital solutions with adult social care providers and support organisations across the Liverpool City Region.
Our Adult Social Care Testbed, delivered in partnership with National Care Forum, involves not-for-profit providers operating across the six local authorities which make up the Liverpool City Region. It functions as a collaborative environment where SMEs can solicit feedback from care professionals and people with lived experience about new and emergent technologies, co-design software and hardware solutions, and generate real-world evidence about their efficacy through digital trials.
One of our grant recipients is CareBrain, which is developing AI tools designed specifically for the realities of adult social care.
For CareBrain, the Adult Social Care Testbed offered the opportunity to work directly with care providers and refine its tools in real-world environments, something that sits at the core of its approach.
Hannah Morgan, CareBrain CEO, said:
"Having access to the Testbed was instrumental in us being able to get honest feedback from users in real time and critical for developers to ensure we're meeting the needs of the sector. These initiatives are vital for innovation in a sector where time is precious and innovation is desperately needed. It's great to see participating providers being so open and generous with their time and their feedback. I hope this will be an example to roll out across the country as it's a great blueprint and has been so effective. Having access to the programme engineering labs and expert teams enabled us to think critically and reimagine how care can be delivered in a modern and efficient way."
Working closely with providers allows the team to co-design tools around real workflows and pressures, rather than adapting generic technology after the fact. Alongside this, access to academic partners and subject-matter experts through the programme has supported the development of CareBrain’s approach to predictive analytics, ensuring it is grounded in evidence, ethics and sector expertise.
Working with providers in the Liverpool City Region
As part of the Testbed, CareBrain worked with Parkhaven Trust to explore how AI tools can support frontline teams in practice.
Kat Whitemoss, Marketing & Fundraising Manager at Parkhaven Trust, said:
“We’re excited to be working in partnership with CareBrain, giving Parkhaven Trust the opportunity to explore new ways to improve care through innovation and practical development.”
This collaboration helped test how CareBrain’s tools fit into real workflows, how they are used by staff, and where they can deliver the most value, whether that is reducing administrative burden, supporting decision-making or identifying risks earlier.
Supporting adoption in adult social care
A key aim of the Testbed is to move beyond ideas into practical implementation. For CareBrain, this means looking at how AI could help improve the quality of information collected from frontline care professionals. This approach could underpin predictive analysis in the future, with benefits for both staff and people drawing on care.
By combining co-design with technical support from the University’s Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) and Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL), as well as input from academic and sector experts, the programme provided the environment needed to test, refine and evidence AI tools built explicitly for the care sector.
CareBrain’s approach reflects a wider shift towards sector-specific AI, tools that are shaped by real-world use rather than adapted from generic models. This approach can support safer, more efficient and more confident care delivery.