Using AI to diagnose arthritis - Professor Weizi Li wins funding

Professor Weizi Li has been awarded £600,000 by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to investigate how machines can be developed to better detect the onset of Inflammatory Arthritis (IA).

Currently, 10 million people in the UK suffer with the disease, and there is no single test that can provide an early diagnosis. This new project aims to teach computers to be able to catch the disease early on before it gets worse.

Professor Li, Professor of Informatics and Digital Health at Henley Business School, said:

“This project will develop machine learning (ML) methods to achieve early detection and personalised treatment of inflammatory arthritis (IA). It will develop a holistic and scalable approach addressing the pressing healthcare challenges of IA and the limitations of machine learning to accelerate real-world its application in healthcare.

Our project features novel interdisciplinary collaboration among AI experts, clinicians in primary care and secondary care, data ethicist, AI adoption and regulation expert, health inequality, bioanalytical and weather experts.”

The project will last for 18 months from October 2023 and will be conducted with co-investigators including Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust (RBFT), the University of Oxford, the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester. The project also collaborates with partners including RBFT Patient leaders, NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board, Thames Valley and Surrey Sub National Secure Data Environment, Insource Ltd., and NHS England.

It is one of 22 projects that will receive £13 million of funding from UKRI’s Technology Missions Fund. The money will fund studies that accelerate health research through AI innovation.