iRhythm Technologies, a digital healthcare solutions company focused on the advancement of cardiac care, has today been named winner of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health and Care Award.
The announcement was made by Secretary of State for Health and Care, Matt Hancock, at London Tech Week’s Founders Forum HealthTech Summit earlier this week.
A competitive process run by the Accelerated Access Collaborate (AAC) as part of the NHS AI Lab – in partnership with NHSX and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) – the award aims to benefit patients by combining the power of artificial intelligence with the expertise of the NHS to improve health and care outcomes.
iRhythm will utilise the funding to trial its Zio service at selected sites – comprising trusts, clinical commissioning groups and health networks – across the UK.
Throughout the three-year programme, clinical, pathway and economic outcomes will be monitored and evaluated in order to inform any future commissioning decisions around the adoption of Zio within the NHS.
Zio by iRhythm is a small, discreet and easy-to-use cardiac monitoring service, used to detect a range of arrhythmias quickly and accurately.
The UK is home to some of the most-cutting-edge, life-changing medical technologies. However, it is still taking years for medical devices to go from clinical trial to widespread adoption, meaning neither patients nor practitioners are seeing the many benefits of these innovations
The patch-like device can be fitted at home and provides uninterrupted, comprehensive monitoring of a patient’s heartbeats as they go about their daily lives.
Underpinned by artificial intelligence, it detects arrhythmias, at the first time of asking, saving lives and ensuring less pressure is placed upon NHS resources.
Commenting on the win, Justin Hall, general manager and vice president of iRhythm Technologies, said: “The UK is home to some of the most-cutting-edge, life-changing medical technologies. However, it is still taking years for medical devices to go from clinical trial to widespread adoption, meaning neither patients nor practitioners are seeing the many benefits of these innovations.
“We’re absolutely delighted to have been chosen as part of the pilot to change that.”
He added: “Around 1.2 million people in the UK are registered with atrial fibrillation, with nearly half a million predicted to have AF undiagnosed.
“When treating these serious cardiac conditions, accurate and timely diagnoses can mean the difference between life and death.
This funding is a step in the right direction in accelerating our Zio service to ensure that people have access to fast, critical care as and when they need it
“This funding is a step in the right direction in accelerating our Zio service to ensure that people have access to fast, critical care as and when they need it.”
Four phases of award are available to support AI solutions from initial feasibility to evaluation within NHS and social care settings. Phase 4 – of which iRhythm has been selected – is intended to identify AI technologies that need more evidence to merit large-scale commissioning or deployment.
The AAC will work with NHS sites to support their adoption of these technologies, and stress test and evaluate them within routine clinical or operational pathways to determine their efficacy and accuracy, as well as their clinical and economic impact.