Discover how heat causes insulin degradation and how to manage it. Don’t let diabetes hold you back. Plan ahead and protect your insulin without worry.

The impact of heat on insulin effectiveness often goes overlooked. For people with diabetes, especially type 1, managing insulin is vital. Yet, in cooler climates, hot days or vacations can impair insulin function due to temperatures over 30°C.

However, this doesn’t mean that insulin users need to restrict themselves from certain climates or activities. Recognising the issue and planning ahead can enable us to handle this challenge effectively and manage our diabetes regardless of the weather.

How to verify insulin heat degradation

Recognising insulin degradation is vital to dealing with it. Many sources advise that insulin might become discoloured or cloudy and change its consistency after getting exposed to hot weather — but that isn’t always the case, and insulin might lose effectiveness without any visual indication.

If your insulin seems to be less effective than usual at lowering blood glucose levels, isn’t expired and has spent time in temperatures that might have exceeded 30°C, it is likely heat degradation. The best way to verify this is by using a different insulin vial that wasn’t stored in the same conditions. If your glucose levels seem to react better to that vial, get rid of the suspicious insulin.

If your insulin seems to be less effective
than usual at lowering blood glucose
levels, isn’t expired and has spent time
in temperatures that might have exceeded
30°C, it is likely heat degradation.

Prevent insulin heat exposure

The best solution to this issue is to plan ahead. If your insulin will stay in permitted temperatures, heat degradation should not be an issue. Avoid leaving your insulin in hot places such as in a hot car, in direct sun or next to heat sources including heaters or vents in a plane or car. If avoiding exposure to hot temperatures (over 30°C) is not an option, you’ll need to keep your insulin cool using another method.

Compare insulin storage solutions

The way you store your insulin can be the difference between fully functional insulin and high blood glucose levels that can ruin your vacation and harm your health. Generally, there are three kinds of solutions available:

• Powered coolers, such as mini fridges: these can keep your insulin fridge-cold but are costly, not as portable and require a power source.
• Insulated cases: these can help your insulin last longer and are the cheapest option around, but to truly keep your insulin cool, you’ll need to use them with an icepack, requiring freezer access.
• ‘Passive’ cooling cases: a mid-priced option that offers the simplest solution and is the best fit for travel situations. These include water-activated cases that require soaking in water and newer solutions like BreezyPacks, which use a chemical transformation to keep your insulin cool every day and regenerate at room temperature overnight.

Don’t let diabetes stop you

At BreezyPacks, we’ve heard many stories of people letting diabetes hold them back for years, avoiding activities they would like to do, bailing on trips and letting diabetes manage their lives. As a type 1 diabetic myself, I truly believe that things don’t have to be this way. I’m pleased that our products have enabled me, and others, to do what we love, explore the world and live our lives to the fullest.

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In the UK, at least 3% of all GP visits are made because of symptoms related to reflux — around 10 million every year.

Reflux disease, or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a condition which develops when the reflux of stomach contents causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications. It is usually caused by a failure of the valve at the bottom of the oesophagus.

Suffering from reflux disease

Although reflux (and reflux disease) is associated with heartburn after meals or when lying down, it is a much more common problem than generally appreciated. Likely 20–30% of the adult population in Western countries will suffer regular symptoms.

Decades of research reveal how reflux can cause symptoms and diseases beyond the oesophagus, affecting the throat (laryngopharyngeal reflux), airways, lungs, mouth and teeth. For instance, reflux is one of the most common causes of a persistent cough; affecting the voice, causing chest infections and damaging tooth enamel. More severely, reflux can cause cancer as most people with oesophageal cancer will have developed it from Barrett’s oesophagus. 

Treatment options and finding the cause

Treatment options vary from diet/lifestyle changes, over-the-counter medications, prescribed drugs — primarily proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — and interventional treatments. PPIs, effective in reducing reflux symptoms, may not work in up to 30% of patients.

Furthermore, research suggests PPIs may be associated with conditions including bone fractures, renal failure and even cancer. In other words, relying on anti-acid drugs without undergoing investigation often will not be effective and may miss other causes of reflux symptoms.

Reflux is one of the most common causes of a
persistent cough; affecting the voice, causing
chest infections and damaging tooth enamel.

Getting a reflux disease diagnosis

Reaching the right diagnosis can be difficult with reflux symptoms mimicking other conditions. Proper testing is essential to providing clear diagnostic information, ruling out conditions and confirming others to obtain a good outcome in many patients. 

Accessing the right diagnosis, suitable tests and receiving the optimal treatment is individual. For instance, singers with reflux-related voice issues may require a different approach than athletes with heartburn. This requires the right team, with expertise working collaboratively for the benefit of every patient. These teams collect data from each patient to achieve the best outcomes so that they can also offer the best possible treatment option.

Finding the best approach to reflux

We still don’t know everything about reflux, especially its impact on the gut microbiome. However, evolving technology and the specialist approach are likely to provide the best possible solutions for the many people suffering from reflux symptoms.

The post Why reflux disease should not be dismissed as a minor issue appeared first on Health Awareness.

Approximately 26 million people in the UK have at least one long-term condition (LTC), with a disproportionate impact on those in deprived communities.

The Health Innovation Network (formerly AHSN Network), supports the NHS to deliver better care for people with LTCs, through innovation. Ensuring regional healthcare systems adopt innovation to reduce health inequalities in their local population is a top priority.

Identifying those most at risk

In the UK, 1.3 million people diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) need specialised care. Cold, damp conditions from inadequate housing can worsen respiratory issues and widen health disparities.

A recent population health management project, part of a local partnership with Health Innovation North West Coast, identified those at most risk of their condition worsening due to social deprivation, including fuel poverty.

The project drew on data insights from 2.6 million people, including GP referrals and charities specialising in home heating, to prioritise those most in need of intervention.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for
a quarter of all mortalities in the UK each year.

Supporting treatment optimisation

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is responsible for a quarter of all mortalities in the UK each yearand disproportionately affects people in deprived areas.

Health Innovation South West is working with a local GP to disseminate new methods for identifying and treating high blood pressure (BP), a cause of CVD. Recording patient data, like weight, pulse and other indicators, helps clinicians to better manage risk factors and optimise treatment.

In the South West, where hypertension rates surpass the national average, this has significantly improved detection rates and increased management rates by an average of 25%.

Finding those undiagnosed

Asthma leads to 60,000 hospital admissions each year and is more prevalent within deprived communities, which are more likely to attend hospital for their condition.

The Network supported the national rollout of Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) — a device that delivers faster, more accurate asthma diagnosis. Since April 2021, approximately 53% of Primary Care Networks in England have access to FeNO testing.

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Despite being the third biggest killer in the world, most people don’t know what chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is and wouldn’t be able to recognise the tell-tale signs.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an umbrella term for a group of incurable lung conditions, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which make it difficult to expel air from the lungs. Unlike asthma, where people will typically only experience symptoms when they are exposed to a trigger, someone with COPD will have permanently narrowed airways.

Signs and symptoms of COPD

COPD can be a ticking timebomb as people tend to ignore the key symptoms, which are straightforward: a persistent cough, mucus, wheezing and breathlessness. Unfortunately, there’s this belief that frequent breathlessness is a normal part of getting older, which it is not, and people quietly withdraw from life. Even with treatment, a severe flare-up can be fatal. Yet, around 500,000 people are living undiagnosed with COPD.

Early diagnosis goes a long way

Awareness of COPD, which affects 1.4 million people in England alone, is remarkably low, with 44% of people surveyed by Asthma + Lung UK revealing they hadn’t heard of the condition until they received a diagnosis.

Asthma + Lung UK is urging people not to ignore symptoms because the sooner someone gets a diagnosis, the more likely they are to live a longer, fuller life. This is particularly pertinent at this time of year when the NHS is under extra pressure, and people with untreated lung conditions are at increased risk of becoming seriously ill with respiratory infections like Covid or flu.

COPD currently kills almost 27,000
people in the UK annually.

COPD risk factors

COPD currently kills almost 27,000 people in the UK annually. Nine out of ten people with COPD have a history of smoking, which is why Asthma + Lung UK is ardently backing the Government’s plans to create a smoke-free generation. This could, in time, significantly reduce the number of people who develop lung disease.

The proposed increase in the age of sale for tobacco products is fantastic news for lung health as cigarette smoke is the major cause of COPD. Childhood deprivation and exposure to occupational dust fumes and chemicals are risk factors, too.

Helpful COPD management

The first line of attack is to give up smoking. People with the illness should also consult their doctor about a personalised COPD plan and get an annual flu jab plus regular pneumococcal and Covid-19 vaccines. They should also have an annual inhaler check and ask about pulmonary rehabilitation — an exercise and breathing programme that helps people live well with the illness.

The post Why COPD is a national concern and how to recognise it appeared first on Health Awareness.

Artificial intelligence, once a far-off innovation, is becoming a reality in hospitals. Research we’ve funded is already driving AI development and enhancing diagnosis, treatment and care for heart patients.

MRI scans are crucial for diagnosing heart disease, but manual analysis takes, on average, over 13 minutes, consuming valuable time doctors could be spending with patients.

AI to accelerate diagnosis

With funding from the British Heart Foundation, scientists at University College London have developed new AI technology that can analyse scans and spot early signs of heart disease in just 20 seconds. The AI tool is currently being introduced at hospitals in the UK and around the globe.

The researchers trained the AI using heart scans from over 1,900 people. It measures the size of the left ventricle — the main pumping chamber of the heart — and how well it pumps blood around the body. The AI tool was found to detect changes to the heart’s structure and function with 40% greater precision and could identify information from scans that the human eye can’t detect.

The researchers estimate that their AI tool could save around 3,000 clinical days every year. By helping to accelerate diagnosis, it could also help heart patients get the treatment and care they need earlier on.

Women who have a heart attack 50% more likely
than men to receive the wrong initial diagnosis.

Closing the heart attack gender gap

The heart attack gender gap is costing lives, with women who have a heart attack 50% more likely than men to receive the wrong initial diagnosis. Clinical trials are testing an AI tool that could help close the gap.

University of Edinburgh researchers, funded by the British Heart Foundation, are developing an AI tool to diagnose heart attacks more quickly and accurately. Trained on data from over 10,000 people, almost half of whom were women, the AI combines patient information with blood test results to detect troponin — a protein released during a heart attack.

The tool was able to rule out a heart attack with 99.5% certainty, confirming patients were safe to go home, as well as identifying those who would benefit from further testing in hospitals. The tool diagnosed heart attacks with greater accuracy than current tests, especially in women.

New technologies have the potential to save many thousands of lives worldwide, and none of these advances would be possible without donations from our generous supporters. With ongoing support, we’ll continue to fuel research and drive forward new advances.

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Health and social care settings can use integrated technology to reduce their administrative burdens, improve the morale of staff and provide better outcomes for patients.

Paul Johnson, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Radar Healthcare, is a big believer in technology — especially when it can be used to create efficiencies in healthcare settings. However, he stresses the importance of selecting the right technology and employing it correctly.

Why use integrated health technology?

“Technology providers have to ask themselves: ‘What type of problem are we trying to solve?” he explains. “In our case, we’re all about making it easier for people to deliver great care and ensure better outcomes for patients and residents. That’s it. That’s the reason. There’s absolutely no point in using technology just for the sake of it. It must perform a task that makes a real impact and does it in a simple, effective and user-friendly way.”

Bringing systems and data together for increased efficiency

This rationale is what underpins Radar Healthcare’s integrated software, seamlessly combining incident and risk management, compliance, and learning. Developed in 2012, the software is widely used by NHS Trusts, private healthcare organisations, care homes, clinics, pharmacies, dentists, and beyond.

“This is a single system with integrated modules that help underpin the fundamentals for any healthcare organisation,” says Johnson. “Its capabilities include incident management, action and improvement plans, risk management, analytics and reporting, audit management and workforce compliance.”

The platform brings disparate systems, data and people together to drive efficiencies; automate workflows and task management; assist healthcare professionals in decision-making; and aggregate patient data for risk oversight.

There’s absolutely no point in using technology
just for the sake of it. It must perform a task that
makes a real impact and does it in a simple,
effective and user-friendly way.

Data enabling planning solutions and patient safety

Crucially, the system seamlessly integrates with electronic patient records (EPRs) and care planning software. Frontline teams can act on adverse patient events through their EPR/care planning solution, automatically triggering the right workflow in Radar Healthcare. “EPRs are a wealth of information and analysis,” says Johnson.

“The interoperability of our system means that it can pull out any data from a patient’s EPR that is relevant to the particular, adverse event they have experienced. This reduces the time to act after an incident has occurred, reduces errors from recurring events and gives healthcare organisations an accurate view as to whether they are delivering safe outcomes for their patients and service users.”

The technology, gathering diverse information, identifies patterns that may signal broader issues, enabling proactive healthcare measures. “Ultimately, better learning is an essential part of what we are trying to achieve,” says Johnson.

“Using the principles of the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and piloting this innovation in what we believe to be world-first is something we’re incredibly proud of. As we know this will enable the implementation of changes, which have the potential to reduce adverse events and, so, improve patient safety.”

Technology can reduce administration and empower staff

It also improves staff morale. “The most obvious way technology does this is by making healthcare professionals more efficient,” notes Johnson. “When healthcare workers aren’t burdened by administration, they have more time to dedicate to the job they’re passionate about. Also, if innovations help an organisation become outstanding, staff will feel a sense of pride in their association with it. This increased sense of empowerment and engagement contributes to lower employee attrition rates.”

Recently, Radar Healthcare partnered on a technology project with Innovate UK — the UK’s national innovation agency. “We recognise a lack of tech connectivity within senior and elderly care settings,” Johnson says.

Part of this project was how IoT (Internet of Things) could be utilised in a care environment. He adds: “If IoT devices, patient wearables and care management systems can become truly interoperable, then it will give residents and service users greater independence and a better quality of life. For example: using connected patient wearable technology to mitigate falls. Ultimately, it’s about creating technology that can move the needle for healthcare organisations, their staff and the patients they serve.”

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A digital solutions provider is making a difference to hospital waiting lists by making it a whole lot easier for patients to manage appointments and access video consultations remotely.

Digitalising healthcare improves efficiencies by reducing wait times and validating lists through patient engagement portals. These facilitate remote video consultations, collect patient-reported data and empower patients to manage their interactions with healthcare providers.

Patient portal reduces waiting times

Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust saw a 50% reduction in its ‘did not attend’ rates by using an integrated, easy-to-use patient engagement portal platform called Zesty, developed and delivered by Induction Healthcare.

The company’s CEO, Paul Tambeau, says: “So often, appointment letters can be mislaid or lost, meaning patients either miss or have to reschedule their appointments. However, with our Induction Zesty portal — available to access through the NHS app — patients can see all the information they need regarding their appointments. This includes the date, time and any instructions they may need.”

Digitalising healthcare improves efficiencies
by reducing wait times and validating lists
through patient engagement portals.

“There is a function that allows patients to reschedule, confirm or cancel an appointment. This means hospitals can fill those spots that become vacant with patients who really need them, thus reducing waiting lists and times.”

For waiting list validation, patients who might have been waiting a year to 18 months for an appointment can be sent a form through the portal, asking them if they still require it. In the first few days of a recent validation programme, Induction have already seen a 45% completion rate on those forms, resulting in a 2% to 4% reduction in waitlists. About 2.5 million patients across NHS England now have access to the Induction portal.

Remote consultation option for eligible patients

The video consultation platform, Attend Anywhere, is used by health trusts nationally across Scotland, Wales and Ireland, and about 74% of England’s acute trusts. In the past six months alone, about 1 million consultations have been conducted on the video platform.

Tambeau says: “At the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, they found that, by using our video platform, they were able to reduce the waiting time for first appointments from 72 weeks to 14. It meant some patients didn’t have to travel where possible — making it more cost-efficient for everyone.”

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There are over 10 million people in England and Wales with skin of colour. Western dermatology professionals are recognising the need to address challenges and differences seen with skin of colour.

According to the 2021 Census, 81.7% of the population is white. People from Asian ethnic groups made up the second largest percentage of the population (9.3%), followed by black (4.0%), mixed (2.9%) and other (2.1%) ethnic groups.

Educating the public on skin diversity

Organisations such as the Primary Care Dermatology Society and the British Association of Dermatologists are ensuring that the resources and information available to healthcare clinicians and the general public reflect the diversity of our population.

Erythema (redness) seen in inflamed skin can be harder to see in darker-toned skin. This means that the extent of the condition might be underestimated — or possibly not noticed or recognised at all.

Absorbing enough sunlight to produce vitamin D
may be difficult in our British weather, and vitamin
D supplements might need to be considered.

Sunlight and skin of colour

Darker skin has more active melanocytes, producing melanin. Absorbing enough sunlight to produce vitamin D may be difficult in our British weather, and vitamin D supplements might need to be considered. While darker skin is less likely to burn in the sun, all skin tones can burn and develop skin cancer with prolonged exposure.

People with darker skin who have skin conditions — such as photosensitivity, vitiligo or lupus — or take immunosuppressant medication also need sunscreen with prolonged UV exposure in sunny climates (usually abroad). However, facial sunscreen is also advised in the UK when dealing with facial pigment issues such as melasma.

Healing in skin of colour

Sometimes, the pigment left behind when inflamed acne or eczema has healed can be darker and longer-lasting than in paler skin. It can take longer for the pigment to clear afterwards than to treat the skin condition itself; this is known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and can be very distressing for the sufferer.

Darker skin types also have a greater number of fibroblasts (collagen-producing cell, important for skin repair), so any skin trauma leading to scarring can lead to a thicker sort of skin repair called a keloid scar. This awareness of skin diversity can help ensure the skin health of everyone, with all skin tones considered.

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Following studies of patients and clinicians, the message is clear from people inside and outside of the NHS: we need to embrace digital tech and cut wait times.

Every day, healthcare frontline professionals across the nation are having to make life-changing — or life-saving — decisions. Our mission at BT is to support them and follow their lead in areas like diagnostics, which is a critical part of the patient journey, with the NHS carrying out over 1 billion diagnostic tests every year.  

Opportunity for AI to mitigate diagnostics challenges 

However, there are still over 1.5 million people waiting for an NHS diagnosis in the UK. As well as rising demand and a growing backlog, the NHS has a shortfall of skilled diagnostic professionals; with a 39% shortfall in radiology and pathology staff alone. It also relies on many outdated legacy technologies that aren’t suitable for modern demands. 

The appetite to embrace change is there. Research shows that three-quarters (74%) of NHS staff believe that future investment in the health service should focus on digital technologies that can improve access to diagnosis and care. The Government also sees the potential benefits, announcing a £21 million fund to boost AI’s adoption throughout the NHS. 

Finding the right AI tech   

Although AI is already being brought into diagnostics, it requires streamlined implementation to ensure clinical workflow is optimised. There are hundreds of innovative companies developing AI tools, and these curated models are trained to do one job incredibly well.  

The first challenge is matching the right AI technology with the problems hospitals need to solve — before onboarding each, individual tool. Whether that’s needing assistance with a cancer diagnosis or identifying fractures, complex onboarding tasks must be completed, which requires significant resource investment. These factors mean AI adoption can seem daunting.  

As Dr Paul Bhogal, consultant interventional neuroradiologist at the Royal London Hospital and member of BT’s Clinical Advisory Board, suggests: “If we want to improve access to healthcare in the UK while improving patient outcomes, we must find technology that works and put it in the hands of those that can put it to work.” 

Three-quarters (74%) of NHS staff see
future investments in tech as a priority.

Digital diagnostics platform for smarter working 

BT is working with best-in-class healthcare partners to help free up doctors’ time using AI — and unlock the benefits of faster diagnosis for patients and clinicians safely and responsibly. For example, we recently launched a Diagnostics AI Marketplace, built in partnership with deepc. The marketplace brings together the best diagnostic AI tools from over 25 vendors. 

Whether looking at an X-ray or an MRI scan, the platform displays an array of innovative tools that are best suited for the job. Accessible through one simple integration, there’s no need for multiple onboardings or significant upfront investment — key blockers of digital adoption. 

The platform’s ability to integrate AI from trusted suppliers means that clinicians will always have access to the best solutions. Meanwhile, its versatility and ability to scale enables healthcare professionals to fully customise it to suit their needs.  

The platform can speed up reporting and improve patient flow, increasing efficiency across diagnostic workflows and employee satisfaction. This will help doctors tackle the current backlogs, as well as manage seasonal pressures with cross-regional digital healthcare tools. 

Implementation of modern diagnostics  

Three-quarters (74%) of NHS staff see future investments in tech as a priority. That’s why we are co-creating a varied portfolio of solutions to help the NHS and other healthcare providers with their diagnostics challenges.  

Faster image sharing (achievable through our work with AXON diagnostics) or the implementation of digital Patient Concierge (created with Soprano) must be top of the agenda for trusts across the nation.  

The technology is available; what we need now is a coordinated approach. Only by working together can we move the dial on diagnostics and truly connect for good.

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AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the discovery, development and commercialisation of prescription medicines in Oncology, Rare Diseases and BioPharmaceuticals, including Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism as well as Respiratory and Immunology.

“At AstraZeneca, we’re using technology, data and AI to transform our company, accelerate our innovative science and maximise the impact for patients,” explains Cindy Hoots, Chief Digital Officer and CIO. “As a company that thrives on innovation, we are constantly evolving our ways of working and we have embedded AI broadly across the organisation.”

Not only has the company invested in connecting diverse data sources and leveraging AI for new insights, but it is also exploring the application of rapidly evolving technologies.

“We are excited about how generative AI, advanced augmented reality, integrated digital twins and next-generation infrastructure can help us achieve our company’s long-term ambitions by accelerating timelines, increasing the probability of success, improving our employee experience and providing more equitable access to healthcare,” Hoots continues.

Gaining better understanding of disease

Hoots and her team enable scientists to leverage AI to advance understanding of disease biology and ultimately uncover novel drivers of diseases the company aims to treat, prevent and, in the future, cure. “We imagine a world where medicines are discovered and brought to patients by blending human ingenuity with advanced AI and other emerging technologies,” says Hoots.

For example, AstraZeneca scientists use knowledge graphs to make better decisions earlier with less effort and material in labs. Knowledge graphs are networks of contextualised scientific data facts — such as genes, proteins, diseases and compounds — and the relationship between them.

“Our teams use advanced machine learning and AI approaches like GraphML and transformers to generate novel insights into target discovery, biomarker identification, patient stratification and drug response,” says Ben Sidders, Executive Director of Oncology Data Science. “We’ve already seen an AI-guided approach bear fruit with our first disease models based on knowledge graphs focused on understanding drug resistance.”

“We recently moved to the next level, adding a generative AI interface to our knowledge graphs and other solutions so that scientists can query trusted, reliable information using plain language and get instant results at their fingertips, as well as help generate and summarise text,” explains Anna Berg Åsberg, Vice President, R&D IT.

“Once we have a disease target in our sights, our scientists can use AI to determine what molecule to create,” she says. Åsberg’s research colleagues now augment traditional drug design with sophisticated computational methods to predict what molecules to make next and how to make them.

“In the past, this process involved making and testing thousands of small molecules over several years to achieve the right drug properties,” adds Åsberg. Now, AI-enabled processes are impacting both the company’s small molecule and large molecule research.

In antibody discovery, the company can use machine learning-enabled deep screening technology to successfully identify early biologic drug hits in just days compared to traditional discovery methods, which take several months.

Advancing personalised medicine

Whether assessing cough recordings, analysing lung tissue samples or identifying which patients are best suited to participate in a clinical trial, AI tools — validated by human experts — help uncover new precision medicine insights.

“Our data scientists are building machine learning algorithms to combine diverse datasets — such as clinical trial data and real-world data — to identify patterns in disease progression and patient response,” says Jim Weatherall, Vice President, Data Science and AI. “These findings inform the company’s clinical trial designs.”

With the aid of AI-powered tools, medical images serve as a valuable source of data, empowering us to gain deeper insights into how a patient’s distinct genetic composition can impact their response to AstraZeneca treatments.

For instance, AstraZeneca experts are using AI in tumour image analysis to improve the accuracy of assessing tumour volumes from computed tomography (CT) scans. “Today, the process is manual, but this new approach would speed up the ability for radiologists to relay information to clinicians about whether a drug has an effect on tumours,” Åsberg adds.

AI has the potential to improve health outcomes
for people, especially those who live in under-
resourced healthcare systems.

Maximising operation efficiencies and growth

Once an AstraZeneca medicine is authorised for sale by regulatory authorities, AI can help to drive supply chain efficiencies. For instance, at one of AstraZeneca’s largest global sites in Sweden, the company manufactures over 12 billion tablets and capsules each year. “Here, we use AI-powered digital twins that can leverage multiple data sources simultaneously to optimise production schedules,” explains Gurinder Kaur, Vice President of Operations and Enabling Units IT, AstraZeneca.

The technology has delivered a 75% reduction in planning lead time, meaning one person can develop a dispensing plan in only 15 minutes. “This used to take eight hours,” says Kaur. “Our ambition is to leverage many of these tools and apply them throughout our manufacturing and supply network.”

Earlier disease detection and diagnosis

AI has potential to improve health outcomes for people, especially who live in under-resourced healthcare systems. AstraZeneca collaborates with Qure.ai — developers of deep learning algorithms for the interpretation of radiology images — to enhance early-stage lung cancer risk identification in low and middleincome countries.

The partnership capitalises on interpreting routine chest X-rays, which happen in large numbers, for risk of malignant lung nodules which can then be referred for further diagnostic testing, potentially leading to earlier stage diagnosis of lung cancer.

“Ultimately, we hope to support early lung cancer detection, reducing mortality rates and enhancing patient outcomes,” explains Kevin Sirjuesingh, Vice President, Commercial IT, AstraZeneca.

Attracting talent, where data and AI impact lives

Working across geographic boundaries, the biopharmaceutical giant aims to bring together experts from around the world and solve complex problems faster than ever before.

“People are our greatest asset. With 50% female representation in senior technology roles, we are committed to building diverse, inclusive teams that are continuously learning together,” says Åsberg.

“We foster collaborative relationships among IT professionals, data scientists, bioinformaticians, AI engineers and bench scientists so that we can talk about science and tech at pace — all working to the same goal of unlocking what science can do,” explains Weatherall.

“We recognise that humans have unique skills that machines do not, and we focus on investing in our people as much as investing in the technology.” AstraZeneca offers a range of opportunities for fresh graduates and those entering the industry, including graduate student rotations, internships and postdoctoral fellowships.

External collaborations are also key to helping answer big questions in AI. “We start with the challenge we need to solve and identify the best partners, whether academic, tech or industry,” Åsberg adds.

Ethical considerations in place

Transforming the future of healthcare by unlocking the power of what AI and science can do — for people, society and the planet — requires trust.

AstraZeneca was one of the first pharmaceutical companies to develop a list of principles for ethical data and AI use in 2020. They revolve around being explainable and transparent; fair and accountable; human-centric; socially beneficial; private and secure.

“We’ve taken a holistic approach to these new emerging technologies, to ensure we are first addressing the ethical, data privacy, legal and procurement considerations,” says Hoots. “We aim to ensure trust in these solutions and deliver value for our business and for patients.”

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