Research which could enable doctors to identify serious brain tumours, cysts and haemorrhages quicker has welcomed its 500th patient at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).
The MIDI research study, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms applied to scans taken using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to provide faster diagnosis of serious abnormalities, started at NUH in April 2021 and was developed by researchers at King’s College London.
Now, the first 500 patients have taken part in the research at both the Queen’s Medical Centre and Nottingham City Hospital.
Professor Rob Dineen, Consultant Neuroradiologist at NUH and Co-Principal Investigator for MIDI in Nottingham, said: “Once again, Nottingham is making advances in healthcare using our long-established expertise in Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
“Patients at NUH and our MRI research team have both made a substantial contribution so far to the MIDI study, which employs Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning-based (DL) algorithms.
“DL is a fast evolving field which has great potential to benefit all aspects of healthcare for patients, in particular radiology. This pioneering method can transform healthcare by deriving new and important insight from the huge amount of data generated every day in healthcare settings – in this case, through routine MRI scanning.”
The MIDI Study has the potential to shorten the time patients need to wait for their results in future, as well as helping hospital radiology departments to prioritise limited resources for reporting abnormal scans and speeding up early intervention for patients that need it.
It aims to develop an automated triaging tool to immediately flag up and identify abnormalities at the time of the patient’s scan.
Dr Carolyn Costigan, Joint Clinical Academic Lead for Healthcare Science at NUH and Co-Principal Investigator, added:
“We’re proud to be involved in another innovative research study which draws on Nottingham’s considerable MRI knowledge and stands to benefit patients in future by enabling faster diagnoses.
“Recruiting 500 patients into this important study is a significant milestone and we would like to thank the MRI scanning team at NUH, as well as the patients who agreed to be part of this research.”
“We will be continuing to ask patients for permission to collect data from scans beyond our 500 patient landmark, and we will be among the NHS hospitals around the UK contributing to the national goal of recruiting 30,000 patients by March 2025.
“These MRI scans will be used to further train and test DL-based algorithms in the near future.”
An MRI scan of the brain takes a 3D image of the organ from all angles. This scan shows soft tissues within it, to provide doctors with a clearer view of any abnormality or anomaly.
These can include cysts, tumours, swelling and inflammation, haemorrhage, fluid leaks, brain tissue enlargement, injuries, infections, and developmental and structural irregularities.
The MIDI Study is sponsored by King’s College London (KCL) and backed by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Dr Thomas Booth, Reader in Neuroimaging at King’s College London, who developed the MIDI study, said: “We were delighted when Professor Dineen and Dr Costigan enthusiastically took on the roles of being Co-Principal Investigators at NUH in 2021.
“Given their own track records, and the track record of NUH, we had no doubt they would be hugely successful in recruiting patients. That has now been unequivocally proven. What this means is that the artificial intelligence MRI triage tool is one step closer to being fit for purpose for patients in Nottinghamshire and beyond who are scanned on NUH scanners; there are also wider benefits to the whole NHS.”
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