Hospital becomes first to use AI to spot infections early

By Isobel Williams

A hospital has become the first in England to use an AI tool to prevent sepsis - by spotting infections early.

Kent and Canterbury Hospital is piloting a potentially life-saving artificial intelligence tool called MEMORI, which analyses information to create an infection-risk level for each patient.

It is designed to help doctors identify infections at an early stage, allowing treatment to start sooner and reducing the risk of serious complications such as sepsis.

The tool analyses routine clinical information already recorded including observations like blood tests, blood pressure, and temperature as well as medications and demographics.

Harvey ward manager Julie Jones said: “We are all so excited to be the first NHS team to use MEMORI and are looking forward to being pioneers.

“It has incredible potential in terms of recognizing signs of infection early, alerting clinicians to review the patient and potentially change their treatment plan.

“Our patients can be very complex and can deteriorate quickly, so early intervention is vital and potentially life-saving.”

The pilot is part of a collaboration between East Kent Hospitals Trust and Sanome, a UK health technology company.

MEMORI, which was co-developed with teams at the Trust, is being offered cost-free as part of a longer-term partnership to bring clinical AI to the bedside.

Victor Casambros, 38, from Folkestone, was the first patient to have his observations entered into the system.

He has been on Harvey ward since April, after suffering a major stroke in January.

As a former digital communications manager, he is interested in new technology and was pleased to be able to be involved, with the help of his wife Emma.

Victor’s observations were taken and entered by student nursing associate Bobbie Buddle, who was on her second day of placement on the ward.

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She said: “I think MEMORI is a really amazing tool with huge potential and I think it’s pretty cool that I’m able to be a part of it being used for the first time in an NHS hospital.”

Sanome was founded by Benedikt von Thüngen, after his father developed sepsis following a cut on his toe.

Unable to get a GP appointment, he had visited an emergency department but his condition deteriorated while he was waiting to be seen.

Benedikt said: “He called me in a total panic from the hospital and said he felt like he was going to die.

“I asked him to put his camera on and it was immediately obvious he had many of the signs of sepsis, including rapid breathing and mottled skin.

“He ended up spending several weeks in acute care as the staff desperately tried to save him.

“We have the data to spot early deterioration, and that’s what MEMORI is about.

“It will analyse the individual patient data, and use what it has learnt from thousands of other patients, to predict the infection risk score.

“This can empower clinical teams to take action, and gives them a greater window of opportunity to change a patient’s outcome. If you get a patient on the right treatment quickly you can prevent deterioration from happening.

“Being able to launch the tool in the NHS is a very exciting and emotional day, and the result of a lot of hard work.”

MEMORI is intended to help free up staff to focus on patient care, with the confidence that the system will alert them if the infection risk level changes.

Benedikt said: “People work in healthcare because they want to provide care and comfort, not go hunting for information or analyzing that information.

“Tools such as MEMORI help them do that job of caring."

Eibhlin Moore, deteriorating patient lead nurse, added: “I think this is a really exciting opportunity to use a tool that will help us identify infection earlier.”