From Amazon shopping suggestions and digital voice assistants, through to face recognition ID and driverless cars, artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly part of our everyday lives.
Thanks to the ongoing support from AJN Steelstock, researchers at the UK Cystic Fibrosis Innovation Hub in Cambridge, are using this technology to improve cystic fibrosis care.
Using AI, researchers want to find better ways to diagnose and treat flare-ups of poor lung health in people with cystic fibrosis and are using the technology to understand more about the sudden downturn in lung health. Exciting progress has been made so far with the research team developing an early-warning system for flare-ups of lung infection, which is now undergoing testing.
As people with cystic fibrosis can have sudden and unpredictable downturns in health – triggered by a flare-up of lung infections – the early-warning system is seen as a significant development. Spotting flare-ups sooner could mean spending less time on treatments and a reduction of long-term lung damage.
AJN has been a big supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and continues to make significant financial contributions towards the development of the UK Cystic Fibrosis Innovation Hub – a ground-breaking partnership between the Trust and the University of Cambridge.
Neil Boyden, Joint Managing Director at AJN Steelstock, comments, “The Cystic Fibrosis Trust is a charity that is very close to AJN and we are delighted to be continuing to support the vital research that is taking place at the Innovation Hub.
“Cystic Fibrosis is a devastating condition that affects over 10,000 people in the UK and is particularly harmful to the lungs and digestive system, making it hard to breathe or digest food properly. We are committed to supporting the Trust with its research to find new and better treatments and are proud to be associated with the Hub.”
The Innovation Hub brings together the UK’s leading experts in lung health with world-class researchers and aims to harness multidisciplinary world-class research to speed up progress towards preventing lung damage in cystic fibrosis and the subsequent loss of lung function.
Professor Andres Floto, Director of the Innovation Hub, adds, “We hope that our machine learning studies will help us understand when someone with cystic fibrosis is about to become unwell.
“If we can predict a downturn in health sooner, it will lead to people spending less time on treatments in the short term and healthier lives in the longer term.”
For more information on Cystic Fibrosis, the work carried out at the Innovation Hub, or to make a donation, please visit: www.cysticfibrosis.org.uk.
