Maria Caulfield has welcomed the news that Sussex will benefit from the NHS and the government’s backing for nine ground-breaking AI technologies to improve speed and accuracy of diagnoses and tackle waiting lists.
A consortium led by the University of Bristol has been awarded nearly £1.9 million to continue developing an online medical tool which is identifying pregnant women who are most at risk of giving birth prematurely or of developing complications that could lead to stillbirth. Tommy’s App has been created to process information gathered at pregnancy check-ups which then generates a risk score for each patient. This is used to provide personalised care recommendations, lowering the risk of premature birth or stillbirth. The tool has already helped to reduce health inequalities in outcomes for ethnic minority mothers in the year after giving birth. Tommy’s App is being trialled at: Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals Trust and Surrey and Sussex Healthcare Trust.
Tens of thousands of patients across the country could benefit from quicker, earlier diagnoses and more effective treatments for a range of conditions – as the government invests nearly £16 million into pioneering artificial intelligence research (AI).
Nine companies have been awarded funding through the third round of the AI in Health and Care Awards, which is accelerating the testing and deployment of the most promising AI technologies. The awards were set up in 2019 to develop AI technology focused on helping patients manage long-term conditions, improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis, and ultimately help tackle the Covid backlogs and cut waiting lists. They are delivered between by the NHS AI Lab, the Accelerated Access Collaborative and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The winners include AI systems which can help detect cancer, diagnose rare diseases, identify women at highest risk of premature birth and support the treatment of neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis. The funding will be used to support the testing, evaluation, and adoption of their technologies by the NHS.
In total, so far £123 million has been invested in 86 AI technologies across three rounds of awards supporting over 300,000 patients and improving their care and treatment for health conditions such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, mental health and neurological disorders.
Maria Caulfield said:
“Artificial Intelligence is a game-changer for families and healthcare professionals. Projects such as Tommy’s app which is being trialled in Sussex, provides early detection and intervention that can make all the difference for the health and wellbeing of both mothers and babies. The impact of artificial intelligence on healthcare and hospitals cannot be overstated. With the ability to analyse vast amounts of data in real-time, it can transform the way healthcare is delivered, making it more efficient and accurate.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said:
“Artificial Intelligence has the potential to speed up diagnoses and treatments and free up time for our doctors and nurses so they can focus on caring for patients. Around 300,000 people have already benefitted from companies supported by our AI awards, with tens of thousands more set to benefit.
“These schemes includes technology that could recognise the signs of cancer more quickly and accurately, predict which women are more likely to give birth prematurely or analyse electronic health records to detect the signs of an undiagnosed rare disease.”