U.K. ultrasound training and quality assurance firm MedaPhor is kicking off a U.K. study of its AnatomyGuide artificial intelligence (AI) software in ultrasound-guided anesthetic procedures, peripheral nerve blocks in particular.
The study will be done in South Wales within the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, part of the U.K.'s National Health Service.
Peripheral nerve blocks involve the injection of local anesthetic around a peripheral nerve to treat pain in a specific area, as opposed to general anesthesia. Ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks are viewed as a safer and more cost-effective alternative to general anesthesia, but performing them requires specialist knowledge, MedaPhor noted.
AnatomyGuide may be used to recognize and highlight anatomical structures in real-time during ultrasound-guided procedures, making it easier to target a peripheral nerve, according to the company.
The product was developed using deep-learning techniques on a dataset of thousands of images of patients, and the Aneurin Bevan study will complete this package, MedaPhor said.
Development of AnatomyGuide was funded by Innovate UK, a public body that backs real-world testing of new medical devices, diagnostics, and technologies.
