Tens of thousands of patients at risk of kidney disease will be able to get tested from the comfort of their own homes as part of a £30 million tech and AI innovation fund this winter. The Healthy.io early detection device will initially be sent to 30,000 patients who are considered most at risk for kidney disease.
Analysis suggests the device could help detect 1,300 cases of undiagnosed chronic kidney disease (CKD) over the coming months, as well as stopping some patients from developing end-stage renal disease – improving outcomes for individuals and reducing pressure on the NHS by preventing unplanned hospital admissions.
Patients place a small device in a urine sample before scanning the device into an app which gives immediate results on whether a patient may have a kidney condition. The test results are immediately uploaded to the patient’s electronic medical record for clinical review.
The National CKD Audit projects that for every 100 patients prevented from developing moderate to severe CKD through early detection, seven acute kidney injuries, six cardiovascular events, two ICU admissions and seven deaths are avoided.
The trial of the app and device in West Yorkshire is part of the £30million Health Technology Adoption and Accelerator Fund, launched by the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England, and made available to local NHS teams to support faster deployment of promising innovations that would improve patient care by helping cut waiting lists, speed up diagnosis, or deliver new and improved ways to treat patients in time for winter.
Dr Vin Diwakar, Medical Director for Transformation, said: “The NHS is constantly looking for innovative solutions that will free up clinical time and improve care for patients, and the plans we have been able to support promise to do exactly that. By detecting potentially life-threatening conditions like chronic kidney disease earlier from the comfort of people’s homes, this latest innovation is another example of how local NHS teams are embracing the latest tech to improve care for their communities. While this will be of huge benefit to patients and staff, they will also help keep people out of hospitals during what we anticipate will be another busy winter for the NHS.