One Health Lewisham helps develop AI training resources for COPD

One Health Lewisham is working with med tech company TidalSense to develop educational resources to train healthcare professionals on an AI-powered device to diagnose respiratory illness.

The six-month project at the integrated community provider, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), started in April 2024.

TidalSense’s N-Tidal device has already been deployed at One Health Lewisham and around 10 healthcare professionals are being trained to use it alongside existing diagnostic practice.

The N-Tidal device is a handheld device that uses AI to improve the speed and accessibility of a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) diagnosis by analysing the pattern of CO2 in a patient’s breath.

Dr Matea Deliu, academic GP and associate medical director for One Health Lewisham, said: “This project aims to bridge that gap by developing resources to equip clinicians with the necessary understanding of how N-Tidal’s AI-driven results are generated and how they can be effectively incorporated into clinical decision-making.

“The development of this training also has the potential to serve as a framework for future AI-powered medical tools.”

According to a press release, the project will focus on three key areas: real-world implementation, needs assessment, and the development of training resources.

The team being trained includes virtual ward team members, including GPs, paramedics and nurses, who are familiarising themselves with the device and the interpretation of the results in a controlled environment.

As part of the project, healthcare professionals will be interviewed and respond to questionnaires to identify training needs.

Based on the needs assessment, video and online training modules for the N-Tidal device will be created and made available healthcare settings which use the device in the future.

Dr Ameera Patel, chief executive of TidalSense, said: “This programme will ensure we can collaboratively develop the training resources required to enable GPs to understand and access our technologies, ultimately leading to faster diagnosis for patients.

“Furthermore, the framework developed through this project can pave the way for the smooth adoption of future AI technologies in healthcare.”

The N-Tidal device is in use within the NHS, as part of Hull’s COPD diagnostic service.

GPs, practice nurses and pharmacists in Oxford also trialed the technology in a 12-week pilot, reported in Digital Health News in August 2023.

In March this year, Digital Health News reported on Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust working with the University of Nottingham on a pilot study investigating the use of the N-Tidal device to diagnose and monitor respiratory conditions in children.

In an NHS England report, published in April 2023, which explores building a digital workforce, NHSE says that educating healthcare workers to develop, implement and use AI effectively and safely requires specialised product-specific training.