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Definition Health wins Precision Medicine Award to deliver a machine learning approach to predict MSK surgical outcomes

In partnership with Innovate UK, the UK’s Innovation Agency, Kent Surrey Sussex AHSN & University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, the grant will accelerate development into an AI-powered risk stratification tool – predicting patient outcomes and delivery of truly personalised care.

The project, inspired by the desire of MSK clinical teams to improve patient care, will identify symptoms & direct patients to the most appropriate treatment pathways much earlier, avoiding long waiting lists.

Definition Health also aims to improve the health of patients in any care setting by assessing their health and identifying underlying risk factors. The solution will help clinicians to better understand the impact of health optimisation and prehabilitation prior to intervention, providing the opportunity to improve population health, outcomes and reduce complications. By identifying how this improves outcomes, the digital health team can build smart machine-learning technology that informs patients about their risk whilst they are considering treatment options, leading to a more informed decision.

With the use of Definition LifeBox – A digital pre-assessment tool, and its accompanying module Definition Recovery – A tool that monitors patient progress and conditions post-operatively, the teams will be able to utilise their experience working with over 22 Hospitals since 2018 to build the foundation for the AI tool and future projects.

The Sussex University-based team enables collaboration between teams at the University AI/computer science department and the Academic Orthopaedic Department, whilst community and hospital clinical teams will support the delivery of the innovative project to the front line of the NHS.

“We are delighted to receive a Precision Medicine Award from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency for our work in using machine learning models to predict the outcome of treatment in musculoskeletal care.

Our aim is to produce a strong evidence base for using routine digital tools to deliver better outcomes for patients throughout the UK, using patient-led metrics. We look forward to sharing our journey with you as we continue our mission to become the most advanced digital tool for the care of surgical patients.”Sandeep Chauhan, Co-Founder & CEO Definition Health

“I am excited by this opportunity to work with Innovate UK and our NHS partners in combining our skills in data science, machine learning, software development and cloud technologies with our clinical knowledge and experience in MSK.

I look forward to both the journey the project will take us on and delivering amazing data-driven capabilities back into our products.”Nicholas Finch, CTO Definition Health