Brain scans. Epilepsy affects at least 600,000 people in the UK. The project team will use technology to study anonymised data that is already collected by healthcare professionals to improve and prioritise treatments.
A new research collaboration between Swansea University and King’s College London has been awarded a prestigious Medical Research Council project grant to improve outcomes for people living with drug-resistant epilepsy.
The partnership brings together clinicians, data scientists and AI experts at Swansea and King’s as well as individuals with lived experience from Epilepsy Research Institute’s Shape Network.
Epilepsy is a common condition affecting at least 600,000 people in the UK. Around 30% of people with epilepsy do not respond to medications. This proportion of people with drug-resistant epilepsy face increased risks from seizures, memory and mood problems.
This project will use state-of-the-art natural language processing, artificial intelligence and routinely collected data to understand more about, and who will develop, drug resistant epilepsy. The team will use technology to study anonymised data that is already collected by healthcare professionals to improve and prioritise treatments.
Dr Owen Pickrell, Project lead and Associate Professor and Neurologist at Swansea University, said:
“By combining cutting-edge AI with real-world clinical data we have a unique opportunity to understand more about epilepsy which does not respond to treatment and to help people living with the condition”
Professor Mark Richardson, Co Project lead and Head of School of Neuroscience at King’s, said:
“Our two centres, King’s and Swansea, have previously worked independently to develop state-of-the-art methods to extract relevant information from thousands of health records. Now, we will join forces to accelerate our progress.”
Annee Amjad, Head of Research and Involvement at the Epilepsy Research Institute, said:
“The Epilepsy Research Institute is excited to provide support, through the Shape Network, for this work which addresses several of the top ten priorities for epilepsy research in the UK.”