icometrix & Queen Mary University of London receive prestigious AI Award from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to investigate the impact of AI applied to MRI in the care of people with multiple sclerosis (MS)

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Mar 03, 2023, 07:45 ET

- icometrix & Queen Mary University of London receive prestigious AI Award from National Institute for Care & Health Research (NIHR) to undertake a project called "Artificial intelligence-assisted magnetic resonance imaging for quality, efficiency and equity in the NHS care of multiple sclerosis (AssistMS)"

- AssistMS will investigate the impact of AI applied to MRI on decision making, clinical outcomes and health economics in the care of people with multiple sclerosis (MS)

LONDON, March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- icometrix is proud to announce that, together with Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), it has been awarded the prestigious AI Award in Health and Care. This collaborative program will investigate the impact of AI on the assessment of MRI and decision making in the context of multi-disciplinary team meetings for people with MS. It is hoped that this research will lead to better care for people with MS (pwMS).

The programme called AssistMS, is a collaboration between icometrix, QMUL, the University of Nottingham, and Barts Health and Nottingham University Hospitals Trusts. The project is further supported by the East Midlands Imaging Network (EMRAD), InHealth Group and the MS Society of Great Britain & Northern Ireland.

AssistMS will focus on the reporting of MRI head by neuroradiologists in routine clinical practice. pwMS receiving disease-modifying treatments (DMT) undergo annual MRI of the central nervous system to monitor disease activity. This allows clinicians to detect whether the DMT is working or not. MRI is much more sensitive than clinical indices, and detecting disease activity early enables changing DMT such that MRI-detectable disease activity does not lead to clinical deterioration. However, detecting the often subtle changes on MRI is time-consuming, tiring and, thus, prone to human error.

Dr. Ashok Adams, Consultant Neuroradiologist at Barts Health, says: "Support for AssistMS will be invaluable to us as a neuroimaging department as it will help with the accurate evaluation of scans in order to guide patients' therapy. This is at a time when imaging departments are under increased pressure to provide timely imaging and scan reports."

The software tested in AssistMS, icobrain ms, detects and highlights subtle changes on MRI brain, and provides summary reports. We hope the technology will enable clinicians to make better informed DMT for and with pwMS. Clinicians will be able to detect signs of disease activity faster and more effectively, enabling them to make quicker decisions about a possible DMT switch.

Klaus Schmierer, Professor of Neurology at QMUL and joint lead of AssistMS: "I am thrilled about this generous award funded by NIHR through the NHS AI Lab's AI in Health and Care Award. If successful, AssistMS will have a significant impact on pwMS' quality of life as well as equity and efficiency of MS care across the UK."

Nikos Evangelou, Professor of Neurology at the University of Nottingham and honorary consultant Neurologist at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust: "As part of monitoring patients with Multiple Sclerosis, we do lots of MRI scans of the brain. Checking, measuring and comparing scans with those taken in the previous years can take a long time. We hope with this study we will learn how to use "cutting edge technology for automatic scans reading" to help us to treat our patients appropriately, having all the information we need."

As part of AssistMS, neuro-radiologists and radiologists will perform their assessment with and without the support of icobrain ms. The project will investigate the accuracy and the consistency of the AI tool in detecting disease activity and other clinically important features in MRI brain images from about 1300 pwMS cared for in east London and Nottingham. The randomised design of AssistMS will enable comparison between standard and AI-assisted MRI assessment. Moreover, AssistMS investigates the impact of the technology on clinical decisions, an understudied area, as well as exploring the economic value of the technology. The project is expected to start in the coming months and will run for three years. Results will be published in peer reviewed publications and lay reports.

Ms Rachel Horne, PPI lead of AssistMS, says: "This is really exciting news. What this means - for people with MS (like myself) - is that by using AI to analyse brain scans, neurologists will be able to get a much more accurate idea of how each patient's disease course is progressing and, in turn, to recommend the best possible treatment for that person."

Geoff Searle, InHealth Chief Executive and AssistMS partner complemented: "We're so pleased to be supporting this fantastic approach to innovation and providing technology that has the potential to significantly improve care pathways for patients affected by Multiple Sclerosis. As a trusted NHS partner of more than 30 years, it's great to be able to build on our already strong relationship with Barts Health NHS Trust and Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, where we deliver MRI scans for both, providing our expertise in scanning and reporting to the study."

Wim Van Hecke , CEO icometrix concluded: "We are extremely grateful and excited to share this prestigious Award with QMUL, and especially being able to collaborate on the AssistMS programme pushing the boundaries of healthcare further through our validated and potentially cost-saving icobrain ms solution. Our joint efforts will undoubtedly transform care and improve outcomes for many PwMS for the better across Europe and beyond."

About icometrix

Founded in 2011, icometrix (Leuven, Belgium; Boston, USA) strives for data-driven insights and personalized patient care, supported by artificial intelligence. icometrix offers a portfolio of eight regulatory approved AI solutions to assist healthcare with various challenges; icobrain extracts data from brain MRI and CT scans for the radiological reporting and clinical management of neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, brain trauma, epilepsy, stroke, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. icompanion, a digital platform, and mobile app helps people with MS and their care team to monitor clinical symptoms and treatments efficiently and objectively. icolung was one of the first available AI solutions to support clinicians responding to the rapidly evolving needs of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, icometrix is internationally active and integrated into more than 100 clinical practices. In addition, icometrix supports pharmaceutical companies in phase I-III and Real-World Evidence (RWE) studies through imaging and data services, and digital health strategy.

Contact info:
[email protected]
https://www.icometrix.com
BE: +32 16 369 000
US: +1 617 528 0980

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3012 Leuven
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About Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is a research intensive university with origins dating back to 1785. The university operates across east and central London (with an additional site in Malta) providing teaching & research to 32,000 students in the faculties of: 1) Medicine & Dentistry; 2) Science & Engineering; 3) Humanities & Social Sciences. QMUL is a member of the prestigious Russell Group of UK Universities and performed strongly in the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) ranking joint 7th in the UK for quality of research outputs. In 2021, The Guardian University Guide ranked QMUL & Bart's 1st in London for Medicine & Dentistry. QMUL is closely aligned with Barts Health NHS Trust, which is the university's clinical teaching & delivery partner.

About Nottingham University

The University of Nottingham is a public research university which was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The main campus of the university is located within the city of Nottingham with a number of sites in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire as well as outside the UK in Semenyih, Malaysia, and Ningbo, China. Nottingham is organised into five constituent faculties, within which there are more than 50 schools, departments, institutes and research centres. Nottingham has about 45,500 students and 7,000 staff, and had an income of £694 million in 2020–21, of which £114.9 million was from research grants and contracts. The University of Nottingham belongs to the elite research intensive Russell Group association and is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, the European University Association, Universitas 21, Universities UK, the Virgo Consortium, and participates in the Sutton Trust Summer School programme as a member of the Sutton 30.

About Barts Health NHS Trust 
With a turnover of £1.7billion and a workforce of around 17,000, Barts Health is a leading healthcare provider in Britain and one of the largest NHS trusts in the country. The Trust's five hospitals – St Bartholomew's Hospital in the City, including the Barts Heart Centre, The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, Newham Hospital in Plaistow, Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone and Mile End Hospital – deliver high quality compassionate care to the 2.5 million people of east London and beyond. 

About Nottingham University Hospitals

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust is one of the biggest and busiest acute hospitals in England, employing over 16,000 staff. We provide care to over 2.5 million residents of Nottingham and its surrounding communities and specialist services to a further 3-4 million people from neighbouring counties.

We have national and international reputations for specialist services such as stroke, renal, spinal, breast, neurosciences, cancer services and trauma.

We are one of the most research-active Trusts in the country with world-leading clinical research delivered across our hospitals and through our NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, which is translating research discoveries into new treatments for common diseases including asthma and arthritis. Central to our research is our expertise in Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

To find out more about our hospitals, please visit our website www.nuh.nhs.uk.

You can also follow @ResearchNUH on Twitter.

About the East Midlands Imaging Network (EMRAD)

EMRAD aims to deliver timely and expert imaging services to patients across the region, regardless of where they are being treated.

The network is a partnership of eight NHS trusts (Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust). These trusts run 14 hospitals, covering more than five million patients.

Since formation, EMRAD has achieved vanguard status, won several awards, and been cited in national reports on innovation and progress in imaging services.For more information, visit the www.emrad.nhs.uk website.

Contact for further information:

Dr Iain Macleod, EMRAD medical director

Email: [email protected]

About InHealth
InHealth is the UK's largest specialist provider of diagnostic solutions. Our mission is to make healthcare better and we do this by working with hospitals and commissioners across the NHS and independent sector. With over 30 years' experience, our flexible and dynamic approach is helping to meet some of health's most pressing challenges – reducing waiting times, speeding up diagnoses, saving money and improving the overall patient experience. Our ventures team is committed to investing in emerging technologies and services from across the world to improve patient outcomes. InHealth provides tests, scans and examinations for more than 4 million patients a year across the UK.

About the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
The mission of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) is to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research. We do this by:

Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.

NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK Aid from the UK government.

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