The delegates met with Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park Project Lead, Richard Caborn, and Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre Director, Steve Haake, for a meeting and tour of UTC Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, the 3G pitch and 100m running track.

Toshiba Medical, a Canon Group Company, were announced as the first major private sector partner of the AWRC in 2015.

Based in the heart of Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, when it opens in 2019 the AWRC will house fully instrumented laboratories and a team of 50 researchers for collaborative projects in sport and exercise medicine.

Mark Holmshaw, President and CEO of Toshiba Medical Systems Europe said: “It was a great pleasure for us all to visit Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park and gain a greater understanding of the vision behind this initiative. We at Toshiba are already supporting the activities of the AWRC and have recently provided an Ultrasound machine which is already being used in research projects.

“We are very impressed by the objectives and scope of the project and will continue to provide our support to enable the project to improve the health and wellbeing of the population of Sheffield, and hopefully across the rest of the UK and beyond.

“As we transition from Toshiba Medical to Canon Medical Systems in January 2018, it also provides an opportunity to share our wider experience and potentially bring other elements to the partnership in the future.”

Mark was accompanied by four delegates from Toshiba Medical – Senior Vice President, Mr Chikao Kamajima; Senior Executive Vice President, Mr Nobuhiro Washio; General Manager Global Sales Planning Division, Mr Naokazu Yuasa and Vice President Europe, Mr Nobuyuki Hatakeyama.

The AWRC has close links with the National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine (NCSEM), and due to being in Sheffield the researchers have a unique opportunity to work with a thriving local community in which to unlock the potential for new innovative research and product development at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park.

The primary aim of the AWRC is to create innovations that will ‘improve the health of the nation’, with the goal of tackling key issues such as static levels of physical activity, rising obesity and mental health whilst also attracting new jobs and investment to the region.

Professor Steve Haake, director for the AWRC, said: “We are extremely lucky to be partnering with such an innovative organisation like Toshiba and I am incredibly excited to see how we can work together to improve the health of not just the UK, but populations across the globe.”

Richard Caborn, Project Lead at Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park, said: “It was an honour to welcome delegates from Toshiba to view the park and the plans for the AWRC.

“Our Legacy vision is really starting to take shape and the site is set to become a leading Innovation District for health and wellbeing research and learning. The AWRC will play an integral role at the very heart of the site.

“Sheffield Olympic Legacy Park has gained international recognition during 2017, having hosted delegates from Kawasaki City, Tokyo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chinese Olympic Committee and the China Institute of Sport Science. We look forward to sharing our vision with many more visitors for years to come.”