Personalised A.I. health checks 'will be a game changer' for the UK's ageing population
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Published: | Updated:
Personalised health MOTs could be a 'game changer' for the UK's ageing population, Wes Streeting has said.
Such checks would involve combining genetic studies and AI to create unique medical plans for patients.
The Health Secretary claimed the technology – currently used in Japan – could revolutionise how healthcare is delivered, with a ten-year plan for the NHS set to be published this year.
Mr Streeting told the Daily Telegraph: 'If we can start to think about that sort of health MOT approach, but combining it with things like genomics and AI machine learning, so people aren't just getting a general MOT, but a personal one, and... not only diagnose earlier and treat faster, but predict and prevent illness, that is a game-changer.'
NHS England has said that frail patients aged over 65 would be given checks in A&E units. The tests will be offered ten hours a day, seven days a week, and will check heart health and mobility.
It is also hoped that AI can be used to identify 'hard-to-spot' fractures, with scanning technology expected to be rolled out soon.
The health service’s spending watchdog has given the green light to four AI programs designed to reduce the number of bone breaks that go undiagnosed in A&E.
Missed fractures are one of the most common errors in emergency departments, according to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), amid chronic shortages of radiologists and radiographers.
Personalised health MOTs could be a 'game changer' for the UK's ageing population, Health Secretary Wes Streeting has said
NHS England has said that frail patients aged over 65 would be given checks in A&E units. The tests will be offered ten hours a day, seven days a week, and will check heart health and mobility
It is also hoped that AI can be used to identify 'hard-to-spot' fractures, with scanning technology expected to be rolled out soon
The NHS estimates more than £1 million a year is spent on compensation for patients who have had their fracture missed.
The four technologies – TechCare Alert, Rayvolve, BoneView and RBfracture – are hoped to increase the accuracy of detecting breaks by about 15 per cent.
Doctors will still assess scans for signs of fractures, but in the participating hospitals the AI will also look for smaller breaks.
Experts believe that, by catching fractures early, the programs could stop patients from further injuries while accelerating their recovery time.
Around 200,000 people every year are admitted to hospital with a fracture. The most common are hip, ankle and hand fractures.
Those with the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis are also more likely to suffer breaks.
The AI scanning technology is developed by uploading thousands of bone-scan images until the software learns to recognise signs of fractures.
Similar programs are being used to catch early signs of cancer.
Daily Mail
