AI at the forefront of efforts to treat coronavirus patients
Patients with COVID-19 are set to benefit from faster treatment, improved outcomes and shorter hospital stays thanks to the use of the latest artificial intelligence.
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Increased speed and accuracy in diagnosis can lead to early medical intervention and save lives
NHSX, a unit tasked with driving the digital transformation of care in the NHS, has brought together over 40,000 CT scans, MRIs and X-rays from more than 10,000 patients across the UK during the course of the pandemic.
Access to this National COVID-19 Chest Imaging Database (
NCCID) has now been extended to hospitals and universities across the country who are using the images to track patterns and markers of illness. The database can speed up diagnosis of COVID-19, leading to a quick treatment plan and greater understanding of whether the patient may end up in a critical condition.
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Today’s businesses are caught between the rock of maintaining collaboration and productivity, and the hard place of moving from a static to a hybrid office. In the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, these organisations need to formulate a strategy for the future, where the “new” normal is likely to be the “established” normal.
It was these quandaries that inspired Xerox to initiate the Make NOW Work programme. The scheme empowers organisations everywhere to challenge old norms and work differently, to not only survive but thrive – harnessing data, automating workflows, personalising at scale, and creating flexible workforces.
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Saliva sampling could be a similarly sensitive, less costly alternative to nasal swabs for COVID-19 testing
Nasopharyngeal swabs are the primary sampling method used for detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but they require a trained health care professional and extensive personal protective equipment. Saliva-based sampling for detecting SARS-CoV-2 has the potential to address many barriers associated with nasopharyngeal swabs. Authors from McGill University summarize evidence comparing the sensitivities for detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection between nasopharyngeal swabs and saliva samples. They found that saliva sampling to be a similarly sensitive and less costly alternative that could replace nasopharyngeal swabs for collection of clinical samples for SARS-CoV-2 testing.
Dr David Weir, who was in his sixties, had worked for the NHS in North Manchester for 30 years, before moving to East Lancashire during the pandemic
A dedicated and respected respiratory doctor who went on the frontline to fight coronavirus has died from the illness.
Dr David Weir, who was in his sixties, had worked for the NHS in North Manchester for 30 years, before moving to East Lancashire during the pandemic.
He died from Covid-19 in December and is among 216 healthcare workers who have passed away from it.
East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust chief executive Kevin McGee led tributes to Dr Weir today.
Private doctors have been slammed for performing non-urgent operations while the NHS is under unthinkable pressure caused by soaring Covid cases.
Medics performing elective operations privately should be shamed out of it amid concerns they are once again taking the p and walking off with the money , London s top NHS medics believe.
All of London s acute hospital trusts have been told to think very carefully about whether it is appropriate to perform elective surgeries, when the same operations have been pushed back by the NHS.
A letter - signed by top medics and several of London s hospital trusts - calls for non-urgent surgeries to be pushed back for one month to allow case figures to drop.