A tool using artificial intelligence (AI) to assess potential transplant organs has been shortlisted for a national award in the UK.
Known as Organ Quality Assessment (OrQA ), the technology scans images of organs to look at suitability for kidney and liver transplants.
The tool was created by the University of Bradford and the Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
It is among those shortlisted in the Medipex NHS Innovation Awards.
According to the team behind the innovation, OrQA that harnesses similar AI technology to facial recognition, could result in up to 200 more patients in the UK receiving kidney transplants and 100 more liver transplants a year.
Professor Hassan Ugail is the co-principal investigator on the OrQA project and is the director of the Centre for Visual Computing at the University of Bradford.
A renowned computer scientist in visual computing and artificial intelligence, he has undertaken prominent work in human biometrics, especially the development of AI solutions for biometric face recognition and analysis.
He said: ‘At the moment, many potential donor organs go to waste because we are unable to assess them in time because that assessment requires specialist knowledge. This is one of the ways AI can help transform lives. It is not replacing the human element but assisting it. By using an algorithm to look at thousands of images of human organs, we can create a system that assesses donor organs, hopefully saving time, money and lives.’
The app’s scope in the UK has already expanded to include other organs, including the pancreas, heart and lungs.
The technology also has the potential to be applied to the US healthcare market, where savings would be in the tens of millions.
The commercial innovation manager Russell Hodgetts said: ‘The University of Bradford specialises in using AI in facial recognition. That same technology is being used to develop this application. Being named as a finalist in these awards is momentous. It shows that OrQA can potentially improve the lives of thousands of people and is a prime example of how academic research can have a real-world impact.’
The project is led by Colin Wilson, general secretary of the British Transplantation Society, who is also an honorary clinical senior lecturer at Newcastle University.
Medipex Innovation Awards showcase the achievements of NHS staff and their collaborators who are developing innovative ideas to improve patient care across the NHS and inspire others to do the same.
Other innovations shortlisted for the Medipex NHS Innovation Awards and designed to use AI to improve services and/or improve patient safety include an Al-enhanced screening tool for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, and personalised outcome feedback technology designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of psychological care.
The Medipex NHS Innovation Awards take place this week (13 March).
