Imperial College London

Academic Institute

Shehan Hettiaratchy

Unknown

No

NIBDAPC_2024_0035

Can artificial intelligence help trauma doctors identify which patients are likely to get worse after chest injuries? A person who is severely injured within the London major trauma system is likely to be taken to a specialist trauma hospital to receive life-saving trauma care. Chest injuries include rib fractures, collapsed lungs, and bleeding in the chest. Chest injuries are an increasingly common injury seen in older adults. As the general population ages, a larger proportion of older patients sustain injuries, often falling from standing. Because of weak bones and reduced muscle mass, older adults are more likely to experience injuries which are not as obvious until scans are performed. The hospital team treating the injured patient often have little information about the injured patient, this could be because they are unconscious or brought to a hospital which they have not attended before. The treating doctor can only make decisions based on the information presented to them, which may include scan reports or vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels which tell the doctor how the patient is responding to treatment. This PREdicting Chest Injury SEverity (PRECISE) research project aims to explore if artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to provide trauma doctors with important information to help suggest treatments or the likelihood of treatments which have been given to other patients who have similar injuries. Our research would use AI to summarise scan reports to identify the injuries that are present and use the information about that patient to make decisions such as the need for emergency surgery, the need for advanced pain relief or need for intensive care. The success of this project could mean that patients with similar injuries, not in a specialist trauma hospital, may get the same treatment suggestions as if they were in a specialist trauma hospital.

This project addresses research questions from the James Lind Alliance Major Trauma Priority Setting Partnership developed in 2022. The Major Trauma Priority Setting Partnership consists of patients, carers, charities (After Trauma, Dayone Trauma, TraumaCareUK) and clinicians working in major trauma to develop focused research questions which future research should be directed towards. The PREdicting Chest Injury SEverity (PRECISE) study will address two major trauma research priorities 1) determining which patients should be transported to specialist trauma hospitals, and 2) preventing complications in patients with broken ribs and other chest injuries identified by the Major Trauma Priority Setting Partnership. The potential patient benefits from the PRECISE study could include improved detection of injury and improved transfer of patients from local hospitals to trauma specialist hospitals.

Public Health Research

02/01/2025

30/10/2024

De-Personalised

Not applicable

Not applicable

One-off

02/01/2025

TRE