Royal Philips, the parent of Philips Healthcare, announced it will implement a regional data integration hub for the U.K.'s National COVID-19 Chest Imaging Database (NCCID), a resource of x-ray, CT, and MRI images from COVID-19 hospital patients across the country.
Primarily, the database is being used for the validation of artificial intelligence (AI) products for use in the National Health Service (NHS), which the organizations hope will help in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 in the U.K. The database of clinical images has the potential to enable quicker assessments of patients when they arrive at hospitals' emergency departments, increase the safety and consistency of care across the country, and ultimately save lives.
The database is being made available to researchers, clinicians, technology companies, and all those wanting to investigate the disease and develop solutions that can support the COVID-19 patient-care pathway.
The NCCID database was developed in collaboration with NHXS, a company involved in the digital transformation of the NHS, the British Society of Thoracic Imaging, and the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust.
