AI tool to aid organ transplants nominated for NHS award

The technology aims to help shorten the wait for those needing organ transplants in the UK

A method using artificial intelligence (AI) to assess potential transplant organs has been shortlisted for a national NHS award.

Known as OrQA - Organ Quality Assessment - the technology scans images of organs to look at suitability for kidney and liver transplants.

The tool was created by the University of Bradford and Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

The Medipex NHS Innovation Awards will be presented on 13 March.

It is hoped OrQA, which uses similar AI technology to facial recognition, could result in up to 200 more patients receiving kidney transplants and 100 more liver transplants a year in the UK, its creators said.

Researchers are working to expand the technology to assess other organs including the pancreas, heart and lungs.

"It is not replacing the human element but assisting it," said Prof Hassan Ugail, who worked on the project.

"By using an algorithm to look at thousands of images of human organs, we are able to create a system that assesses donor organs and this will hopefully save time, money and lives."