The tool scores potential organs by comparing them to images of tens of thousands of other organs used in transplant operations.

A team of researchers in the UK has developed a pioneering method to score potential organs for transplant using artificial intelligence (AI). The new AI tool, known as OrQA (Organ Quality Assessment), compares images of potential donor organs with tens of thousands of other organs that have been used in transplant operations.

The AI technology assesses the images of the donor organ more effectively than what the human eye can see, detecting damage, pre-existing conditions, and how well blood has been flushed out of the organ. (The Guardian)

The project is supported by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), which has almost 7,000 people in the UK on its waiting list for a transplant.

“This is an exciting development in technological infrastructure that, once validated, will enable surgeons and transplant clinicians to make more informed decisions about organ usage and help to close the gap between those patients waiting for and those receiving lifesaving organs,” said Prof Derek Manas, the organ donation and transplantation medical director of NHSBT.

The team has secured £1m in funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research to refine the technology. If successful, the tool could result in 200 more patients having kidney transplants and 100 more receiving liver transplants every year in the UK.

This will enable surgeons and transplant clinicians to make more informed decisions about organ usage and help to close the gap between those patients waiting for and those receiving lifesaving organs.

Related Story:  Researchers At Taiwan University Develop AI System To Detect Pancreatic Cancer

Image Credit: Flickr