Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals have been working with the University of East Anglia to develop a device that helps with identifying the most common causes of dizziness.
The Continuous Ambulatory Vestibular Assessment (CAVA) is being tested by patients across the country, analysing hours of eye and head movement data with an aim to help “speed up the diagnosis” of dizziness.
The CAVA device has been in development for the past six years and is designed to be worn daily for several weeks by dizziness sufferers in order to record the relevant data. This data is then analysed by an algorithm to identify periods of dizziness and find their possible cause.
20 hospitals have been taking part in this clinical trial, in an attempt to help train the AI algorithm to identify moments of dizziness. The study is being led by ENT consultant, John Phillips at NNUH and Prof Stephen Cox in the School of Computing Sciences at UEA, whilst also being supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
“We currently have 600 days of data and an AI algorithm developed by the team at the UEA will help to analyse that information. We have some international links with a site in the US who would like to use CAVA and we are exploring its potential use for non-balance problems,” John commented, when speaking on the success of the trial.
Digital research in healthcare: the wider trend
The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) recently awarded £1.3 million to four South East London based organisations to work on a research project that aims to determine how well a digital weight management tool can help people with obesity. This is part of the NIHR Invention for Innovation (i4i) Programme, which is funding seven new research projects focused on medical devices, in vitro diagnostic devices and digital health technologies made to address an existing or emerging health need.
In November, we reported on the NHS DigiTrials initiative, which was looking to recruit 150,000 volunteers for four research projects around cancer diagnosis and treatment, and children’s surgery. This included the TBEST4 Heartburn Health trial, which included the testing of a new screening technique for oesophageal cancer, where patients swallow a “compressed sponge on a string” to help with the extraction of cells.
Health Data Research UK introduced a new version of its Health Data Research Gateway. Originally launched in 2020, the Gateway has always aimed to simplify the process of finding and requesting secure access to data sheets. It was updated this year, now featuring smart search and linked resources designed to “empower the research community and accelerate scientific discovery for public benefit”.
In a recent interview, we caught up with Dr Nojus Saad, president and CEO of the Youth For Women Foundation, France and MENA digital healthcare researcher and ambassador. He shared his experiences in digital healthcare spanning countries including France, Iraq, and India, as well as delving into some of the digital research projects he was currently working on.
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