Liver disease is one of the UK’s largest health challenges, with advanced cases resulting in a liver transplant as the only viable option for treatment. Currently, there are a wide range of single tests for liver disease which are effective in identifying established or advanced disease, but not early signs or patients at greater risk of much worse outcomes. Approximately three quarters of people diagnosed with the disease are at a late stage, often when lifestyle changes and other interventions can have a limited impact.

The Early Detection of Liver Disease research project (ID LIVER) takes a targeted and streamlined approach to assessing patients at increased risk of liver disease, in underserved communities. The project aims to save lives by identifying liver disease in patients much earlier than is currently the case and builds on the expertise developed through the Innovate UK-funded project – Integrated Diagnostics for Early Detection of Liver Disease, to develop innovative care pathways for identifying, assessing and managing at-risk patients in the community.

This research project is delivered as part of a series of projects that looks to address Greater Manchester’s major morbidities for the Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator (ADA), part of the Health Innovation Accelerator. The Health Innovation Accelerator has been established to rapidly improve the diagnosis and treatment of disease across the 2.8m Greater Manchester population.

Liver disease disproportionately affects certain communities and is closely linked with social deprivation, multi-morbidity, obesity and alcohol use. Through the project, the team will utilise Population Health Analytics to identify underserved communities in Greater Manchester that are most affected by the burden of liver disease and explore how Machine Learning can streamline liver disease diagnostic pathways.  Early detection can also create cost savings for the NHS, whilst taking a more targeted approach will also help to tackle health inequalities in high-risk groups.

Patients at increased risk of liver disease will be invited to attend a liver assessment clinic in a community setting and undergo a series of tests that are carried out in one visit rather than several. Patients will be asked if they would like to participate in the study and provide helpful information that allows the research team to develop new, improved tests for detecting liver disease earlier and predicting disease progression.

In addition to early detection, an important element of this project is raising awareness of liver disease amongst underserved and marginalised groups. Working in partnership with communities, the study aims to co-design communications and learn how liver assessment clinics can best be provided in community settings. Through community collaboration we will ensure that we address health inequalities using innovative solutions.

Partners:

The Early Detection of Liver Disease programme is delivered by Health Innovation Manchester in partnership with:

• Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) (Innovate UK partner)
• The University of Manchester (Innovate UK Partner)
• Jiva AI (Innovate UK partner)
• Sollis (Innovate UK partner)
• Vocal (Partner)
• Mind Field Advertising (Innovate UK partner)
• By Gamers for Gamers Ltd (Innovate UK partner)

The Health Innovation Accelerator

The Health Innovation Accelerator encompasses two projects, the Advanced Diagnostics Accelerator and the DEVOTE programme, delivered through a partnership between Health Innovation Manchester, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), The University of Manchester, and industry partners.

This project is part-funded by the Greater Manchester Innovation Accelerator programme. Led by Innovate UK on behalf of UK Research and Innovation, the pilot Innovation Accelerators programme is investing £100m in 26 transformative R&D projects to accelerate the growth of three high-potential innovation clusters – Glasgow City Region, Greater Manchester and West Midlands. Supporting the Government’s levelling-up agenda, this is a new model of R&D decision making that empowers local leaders to harness innovation in support of regional economic growth and help attract private R&D investment and develop future technologies.