DOTS clinical evaluation in the A&E
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Clinical evaluation and implementation of DemDx AI-driven Ophthalmology Triage System (DOTS) in an adult eye casualty accident and emergency (A&E)
IRAS ID
310792
Contact name
Alex Day
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Moorfield's Eye Hospital NHS trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 31 days
Research summary
Eye emergencies are becoming increasingly common, leading to a rise in demand for eye emergency care. Patients attending eye casualty services are first assessed by a trained doctor or nurse who decides whether their condition requires urgent medical care or if their condition is not urgent. However, evidence suggests that many patients with non-urgent conditions are given urgent attention, causing delays and incurring unnecessary costs.
To improve emergency eye care, a computer system that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help nurses decide which patients need urgent attention is being tested in a new research study. The system, called DemDX AI-driven Ophthalmology Triage System (DOTS), has already been tested in a previous study and will now be tested in a real-world setting to evaluate its impact on nurses' ability to correctly identify patients who need urgent care and to reduce the number of unnecessary appointments.
The study will recruit nurses working with triage and they will collect data from 1198 patients who arrive at the Moorfields A&E. Nurses at the A&E will use the DOTS system to support triage patients, and their performance will be compared to a previous period when the system was not used. The study will also look at factors such as patient waiting time, the user-centred design of the system, and user trust in the recommendations provided by the system.
The findings of the study could lead to the wider adoption of AI technology in emergency eye care services, ultimately benefiting patients and healthcare providers alike. The use of AI-driven technology can help emergency eye care services to manage increasing patient demand effectively, resulting in better patient outcomes and reduced costs for the healthcare system. The study will contribute to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of AI in healthcare and provide insights into how technology can support healthcare providers in delivering high-quality care.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Sheffield Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/YH/0068
Date of REC Opinion
17 May 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion