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Author: Louise Stanley

Our shared future – BHP publishes annual review of activity

Written by Louise Stanley on . Posted in Birmingham Health Partners.

Following a year in which Birmingham Health Partners expanded its membership to eight member organisations – welcoming Aston University and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust – we’re pleased to publish our second annual review of activity for the period September 2022-August 2023. 

Download and read the Birmingham Health Partners Report of Activity 22-23  (PDF, 5MB)

Over the past year, BHP has demonstrated the benefits of collaboration across our organisations. The addition of new members and the emergence of integrated care systems together with changes in the funder landscape offer new opportunities for BHP to continue to develop and promote our collaborative purpose.

The year ahead will see us welcome a new Chair, new leaders at some of our Partner organisations and the publication of a strategic framework and delivery plan that reflects our ambitions for the region.

We have in our hands the tools that we need to succeed, the onus is on us to put them to work to ensure Birmingham is seen as the place where innovative research translates into improved health and economic growth.

Outgoing chair Ed Smith commented: “We were delighted to welcome Aston University and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust to our membership during the year and now comprise two universities, five NHS Trusts, and the West Midlands AHSN. Our collaboration between such significant partners allows us to focus on research, innovation and health care capabilities to deal with important health issues in the region and indeed beyond through wider partnerships. 

“BHP’s key activities over the last year have been a focus on women’s health; improving the environment for clinical research fellowships; and our forward strategy for the next five years – which has been approved by the BHP Board and is focussed on delivering real value to the region from collaborative and skilled contributions which, in the prioritised areas, would be less effective than those from single organisations working individually.”

Downloads:

Birmingham Health Partners Report of Activity 22-23  (PDF, 5MB)
Birmingham Health Partners Report of Activity 2020 to 2022 pdf (4MB)

AI – safe and effective for everyone: new standards released by BHP members

Written by Louise Stanley on . Posted in Health inequalities.

An international initiative called STANDING Together – led by BHP founder-members University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, and the University of Birmingham – has released new standards ensuring that medical artificial intelligence (AI) systems are developed with appropriate health datasets.

The STANDING Together recommendations ensure that the full diversity of people that AI systems will be used for, is represented in health datasets. This is imperative as AI systems are less likely to work well for people who aren’t properly represented in datasets – and may even be harmful. People who are in minority groups are particularly likely to be under-represented in datasets.

The recommendations provide guidance on collecting and reporting details such as age, sex, gender, race, ethnicity, and other important characteristics, and have been developed following a two-year research study involving over 350 people from 58 countries, including patients, researchers, healthcare professionals, industry experts, and regulators. They also recommend that any limitations of the dataset should be transparently reported to ensure that developers creating AI systems can choose the best data for their purpose. Guidance is also given on how to identify those who may be harmed when medical AI systems are used, allowing this risk to be reduced.

The research has been conducted with collaborators from over 30 institutions worldwide, including universities, the UK medicines regulator (the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, MHRA), patient groups and charities, and small and large health technology companies. The work has been funded by The Health Foundation and the NHS AI Lab and supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

Lead researcher Dr Xiaoxuan Liu, Clinical Scientist in AI and Digital Health Technologies at the University of Birmingham, explained: “AI models are underpinned by data, which captures a wealth of information. When dealing with health data, this information can unfortunately include existing health inequalities. These inequalities can come about in many ways, including underrepresentation of particular groups, or as a reflection of structural biases within wider society. It is vital that anyone using data to develop new innovations (including AI) are aware of any biases, and that they are accounted for. As we move towards an AI-enabled future, we can ensure these technologies don’t just work on average, but that they work for all.”

Dominic Cushnan, Director AI, Imaging & Deployment at the NHS AI Lab, said: “The lack of diversity and inclusivity in our current datasets are major challenges in our ability to ensure AI in health and care works for everyone. These standards are an important step towards transparent and common documentation of represented groups in our data, which can support the responsible and fair development and use of AI.”

The recommendations are available open access at www.datadiversity.org/recommendations to support the development of safe, effective and equitable AI tools for healthcare.

BHP members collaborate to explore tech, big data and AI in healthcare

Written by Louise Stanley on . Posted in Birmingham Health Partners.

Two members of Birmingham Health Partners – Aston University and Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) – are collaborating to explore how digital technology, big data and artificial intelligence can revolutionise healthcare.

To kick off the partnership, Aston University’s Engineering for Health Research Centre is co-hosting the BWC Innovation Summit, which brings together tech firms, healthcare professionals and academics to explore how new technology can benefit paediatric and women’s healthcare as well as the young people’s mental health sector.

Representatives from Hitachi, KPMG and the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network (WMAHSN) will be at the event on October 11th held at Conference Aston.

Amanda Baugh, Head of Innovation at BWC said: “The event is an opportunity to bring together professionals from different disciplines to foster collaboration and springboard ideas on the future of healthcare.

“We want to get a wide range of experts in one place to explore and define challenges and set out plans about how we can adapt and adopt existing technology, products and devices, along with how we might develop products and solutions not currently available to meet these challenges.”

Dr Antonio Fratini is head of Aston University’s Engineering for Health Research Centre. He said: “The University’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences is delighted to be co-hosting this event which highlights Aston University’s mission to be a leading university of science, technology and enterprise.

“Through harnessing the power of medical and digital technology, analysis of big data and artificial intelligence we will be able to change healthcare – for example by providing care closer to home, improving access and therefore reducing inequalities.”

Stem cell therapy for heart attack patients trialled at UHB

Written by Louise Stanley on . Posted in Clinical trials, Experimental medicine.

A stem cell therapy trial at BHP founder-member University Hospitals Birmingham is having a life-changing effect on heart attack patients, with scans showing almost complete restoration of heart muscle function just weeks after the procedure. 

After a heart attack, around 30% of patients are left with severely damaged and weakened hearts which can, over time, lead to life-threatening heart failure, as the heart is unable to pump the blood around the body properly. The trial therapy aims to prevent this heart failure by regenerating the damaged muscle.

Developed by biotechnology company CellProthera, the therapy involves the application of a person’s own stem cells directly into their heart, through the femoral artery in the leg. The patient’s heart activity is then monitored for six months – at 1, 3 and 6 months – using echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

66 year old Kim Smith is one of four patients recruited to the trial at UHB and was randomly allocated to the experimental arm of the study, meaning that she received the therapy as treatment following her heart attack. Just two weeks after receiving the therapy, Kim’s heart function had returned to almost normal (55%).

Kim said: “I now feel as though I can actually do what I used to do before. When I had the heart attack, I was worried that I was going to end up being stuck at home all day, but since having the stem cell therapy, psychologically and physically, I just feel so much better.

“I’m so grateful to have had this treatment, and I do hope that the research that they are doing goes forward because I think a lot of people would benefit. That was my reason for doing it in the first place – even if it does nothing for me, it could help someone else.”

So far, approximately 50 patients from the UK and France have been recruited to the trial, known as the EXCELLENT (Expanded Cell Endocardial Transplantation) study. The research is currently in its final phase, with results expected later this year.

Dr Sohail Khan, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist and Lead Investigator at UHB for the EXCELLENT study, said: “What we have seen so far is that actually the stem cells do seem to have a dramatic effect in terms of improving heart muscle function.

“Currently, there are few clinical options available that repair and regenerate heart tissue following a heart attack. As a result, the only option for many patients that have suffered a heart attack and developed advanced heart failure, is a fully invasive heart transplant. This is a very serious procedure for the patient, and very costly for society.

“The development of a cell therapy to regenerate cardiac tissue will be transformative for a considerable number of patients globally. A minimally invasive, cell therapy, that uses a patient’s own stem cells, could also considerably reduce treatment costs.”

Matthieu de Kalbermatten, CEO at CellProthera, said: “Bringing the therapy to market as a minimally invasive therapy is vital to tackle, from the root, the harmful effects of heart attacks and improve quality of so many lives.

“The impressive progress of the CellProthera EXCELLENT trial is a testament to the work of our team and our stakeholders. All of the trial sites in the UK and France are committed to admitting and treating the final patients as quickly as possible. In 2024, we will look to start the phase III trial, where we will be recruiting patients from across Europe, with the aim of potential future market authorisation and bringing this vital treatment to all patients.”

NIHR awards £4m to Birmingham Clinical Research Facility to enhance the delivery of research

Written by Louise Stanley on . Posted in Birmingham Health Partners, Clinical trials, Experimental medicine.

The Birmingham NIHR Clinical Research Facility (CRF) has been awarded £4 million from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

This funding is part of a total investment of £96 million that has been awarded to NHS organisations across England, to enhance the delivery of research through improving research facilities for patients across the NHS, helping teams to find new ways to prevent and treat diseases.

The Birmingham NIHR CRF is a collaboration between three BHP members – University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust (BWC) and the University of Birmingham (UoB).

In Birmingham, new equipment will enable the delivery of innovative health technology services, including a range of cell and gene therapies requiring specialist pharmacy facilities. For example, onsite isolators will support preparation within the research facilities, speeding up the delivery of CAR-T trials for patients with haematology (blood) cancers, as well as trials into cancer vaccines for patients with a variety of solid tumour cancers.

The funding will also provide new laboratory equipment, essential for storing samples from patients recruited to metabolic research studies. This will support researchers with ground breaking work in the prevention, treatment and management of metabolic disease for adults and children across Birmingham.

The bid was led by Jo Gray, NIHR Birmingham Clinical Research Facility Clinical Manager, who said: “This successful bid for equipment and upgrades to our facility is fantastic and will make such a difference to patients and research teams across all partner sites.

“We have ambitious plans in place to upgrade existing equipment, as well as increase our ability to support new research across the sites. New equipment will include a paediatric ‘peapod’, which measures body composition and growth in premature born infants, and biosafety cabinets, which provide an enclosed ventilated space for drug preparation.

“Our portfolio of gastrointestinal (GI) and respiratory studies will also be able to grow with the addition of new endoscopy equipment. One of the key GI trials to benefit will be the INCEPTION clinic for patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). This trial aims to improve diagnosis and prognosis, and make more informed decisions on IBD treatment through biomarker discovery and implementation, by understanding more about how different microbiomes affect gut and oral immune responses.”

Professor Lorraine Harper, NIHR Birmingham Clinical Research Facility Programme Director, added: “We are tremendously proud that our hospitals have been selected for this award from the NIHR to improve the delivery of research in our local population. The award, which builds on existing clinical-academic collaborations facilitated by Birmingham Health Partners, will benefit our adult and paediatric patients, improving their access to new therapies and treatments, which can potentially be life-changing.”

Dr. Jan Idkowiak, NIHR Birmingham Clinical Research Facility Director (BWC), said: “This is very exciting. This award allows us to expand our ability to deliver cutting-edge clinical research beyond the Children’s Hospital, as it will enable us to include pregnant women and their children at the Women’s Hospital. This will be a huge benefit for our patients and will offer great opportunities to develop new therapies.”  

Professor Philip Newsome, Director of the NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), commented: “This is fantastic news for both the CRF and for the organisations that work with them, like the Birmingham BRC. The CRF has been a key partner in delivering many of our experimental research studies, and we collaborate closely on our training, patient and public involvement, and equality, diversity and inclusion programmes too. We are looking forward to continuing working together to deliver patient benefit.”

Uniting health and data science in the Midlands to positively impact healthcare

Written by Louise Stanley on . Posted in Birmingham Health Partners.

Further funding has been awarded for BHP founder-member the University of Birmingham to host the Health Data Research UK (HDRUK) Midlands Regional Network for five more years.

HDRUK Midlands aims to improve health through uniting healthcare and data science communities across the Midlands. These communities are committed to working together to improve the quality of health-related data, which includes developing new tools and technologies that equip our frontline healthcare staff to deliver excellent care.

Following recent funding success and as part of its strategy to enhance and grow an inclusive health data community, HDRUK Midlands are launching a new Regional Community Platform, which will bring together clinicians, academics, data scientists, technologies and members of the public.

Professor Alastair Denniston, of the University of Birmingham said: “We’re delighted that the HDRUK Midlands Region Network has been funded for a further five years. This endorsement to continue our work will allow us to expand the network further, and to upskill and improve the knowledge and capabilities of our health and data communities, by enabling us all to learn from each other.”

The growing network is currently made up of 19 organisations, who between them are leading on over 90 projects. Since its inception, 145 people have signed up to the Community, showcasing their skills and interests with the intention of fostering collaborative working. The HDR UK Midlands Regional Community welcoming new members and is open to anyone who has an interest in health data science, including patients and members of the public.

“The recently launched community platform will allow colleagues to connect with others and find experts with a particular skill or interest across the region. We believe our people are our greatest asset and the new Community Platform will help us to make the most of our people.” Dr Fiona Pearce, University of Nottingham.

Original consortium partners include the host institution, the University of Birmingham, its fellow BHP member University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, as well as the Universities of Nottingham, Leicester, and Warwick, with new partners being welcome to join as the network moves into its next phase.