New research has found no added benefit of using citrate-based drugs in the treatment of acute kidney disease in intensive care, when compared to the anticoagulation drug heparin, despite their extra cost. People with acute kidney injury (when the kidneys stop working correctly) may need a ... READ MORE
News for Digital Health from Hospital to Home
One in eight people have undiagnosed nighttime hypertension
Around 15 percent of people aged between 40 and 75 may have a form of undiagnosed high blood pressure (hypertension) that occurs only at nighttime. Because they do not know about this, and are therefore not being treated for it, they are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease such as ... READ MORE
OUH nurse researcher gets award to further study
A Clinical Academic Nurse Researcher at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) has been given an award by the British Federation of Women Graduates (BFWG) to continue her research exploring how to improve the escalation of care for patients whose condition deteriorates in the hospital setting. Jody ... READ MORE
Doctors making AI-assisted decisions more accurate and confident in decision-making
New research has shown that doctors who use an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to assess echocardiograms are more accurate and more confident in their decision making. The study, published in the journal JACC Cardiovascular Imaging, is the first to show that an algorithm can ... READ MORE
QCOVID study identifies vaccinated groups at highest risk hospitalisation and death
Researchers from the University of Oxford have identified which vaccinated people are at greatest risk from severe Covid-19 leading to hospitalisation or death, from 14 days after the second dose of vaccination, when substantial immunity should be expected. The research used the QCovid tool, ... READ MORE
Researchers develop algorithm to diagnose deep vein thrombosis
Researchers are developing an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm to diagnose deep vein thrombosis (DVT) more quickly and as effectively as traditional radiologist-interpreted diagnostic scans, potentially cutting down long patient waiting lists and avoiding patients unnecessarily receiving drugs ... READ MORE
BRC-supported study receives Best Research Paper Award
A leading cardiology journal has named an academic paper written by Oxford BRC-supported researchers as its best research paper of 2020. The paper – which found that two common heart medication do not increase the risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation – was named by the BMJ Heart journal as the ... READ MORE
Oxford wins government funding to evaluate prostate cancer detection system
A prostate cancer detection software system to help pathologists quickly identify suspicious areas of tissue, developed by the digital diagnostic company Paige, will be investigated in a multicentre clinical study led by the University of Oxford as part of a successful NHSX Artificial Intelligence ... READ MORE
Study challenges idea of clinically significant mid-pregnancy drop in blood pressure
An international study involving NIHR Oxford BRC researchers has shown where normal blood pressure in pregnancy should be across the world and when clinicians should react because it is abnormal. The study’s findings, published in PLOS Medicine, provide international, gestational age-specific ... READ MORE
Oxford academics named NIHR Senior Investigators
Four academics supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre have been awarded a prestigious national award. The University of Oxford professors have been named National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigators in recognition of being “among the most prominent and ... READ MORE
Machine learning system developed to identify deteriorating patients in hospital
Researchers in Oxford have developed a machine learning algorithm that could significantly improve clinicians’ ability to identify hospitalised patients whose condition is deteriorating to the extent that they need intensive care. The HAVEN system was developed as part of a collaboration ... READ MORE
Using AI to improve the quality of endoscopy videos
A multidisciplinary team of researchers has developed a deep-learning framework for improving endoscopy to aid the detection of cancer and other gastrointestinal diseases. Cancers detected at an earlier stage have a much higher chance of being treated successfully. The main method for ... READ MORE
Eight BRC projects get RCF funding
Eight Oxford BRC proposals, many covering a number of themes, have been awarded NIHR Research Capability Funding (RCF) funding to take forward key areas of research. The selected projects that will be supported include: Developing a research centre devoted to urgent and acute careThe ... READ MORE
Common heart medication does not increase risk of COVID-19 hospitalisation
A study by Oxford researchers, supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), found that ACE inhibitors and ARBs – both common treatments for high blood pressure and heart failure – are not generally linked to an increased risk of severe COVID-19 disease or an increased likelihood of ... READ MORE
Oxford leads development of risk prediction model for smarter COVID-19 shielding advice
People at highest risk of serious illness from SARS-CoV-2 infection may soon have access to better shielding advice based on a new data-driven risk prediction model being developed by an Oxford University-led team. The Principal Investigator, Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox of the ... READ MORE
BRC Technology Co-theme Lead appointed as NIHR Health Technology Assessment Programme Director
Professor Andrew Farmer, the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre’s Co-theme Lead for Technology and Digital Health and an experienced general practitioner, begins a new role with the NIHR on 1 June 2020 as Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme Director. He will take over from Professor Hywel ... READ MORE
BRC funds new COVID-19 research projects
The NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) has allocated funding to three COVID-19 research projects in an attempt to improve treatment, understand how the virus interacts with chronic diseases, and the longer-term effects of infection on organs. The funding, originally earmarked for BRC ... READ MORE
New wearable technology used to monitor COVID-19 patients
Wearable technology that monitors patients’ vital signs is being used with COVID-19 patients on the isolation ward at the John Radcliffe Hospital. The technology has been developed by biomedical engineers and medical researchers supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre ... READ MORE
Top accolade for gestational diabetes app
A smartphone application for women with gestational diabetes, developed at Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) and the University of Oxford, has won a national award. GDm-Health won the MedTech, Device or Hardware Innovation Award at the HSJ Partnership Awards on Thursday (27th February). The ... READ MORE
Heart rate rise and blood pressure drops during pregnancy not as dramatic as previously thought
New analysis from over 36,000 healthy women in 20 countries suggests that physiological changes during pregnancy may not be as dramatic as traditionally taught. However, blood pressures do appear to be increasing year on year. Medical text books are based on data that is now over 40 years old. ... READ MORE