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Research Projects
Patient circumstances and their imaging and treatment options vary enormously across the world. An imaging test which is considered useful in one setting, may not be useful or available in another.
New technologies, such as AI and portable equipment will have very different applications and value in different health systems. There is very little evidence to guide the best use of imaging tests in resource limited settings and a real need and opportunity for more research in this area.
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Through links with various UK and international academic institutions we support imaging research.
Research Partner Institutions
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Can we simplify cardiac echo to make it accessible more widely in Sub-Saharan Africa?
This study, funded by a Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's (RSTMH) early career research grant, aims to enhance the global health community's understanding of the accuracy of simplified cardiac echo. Findings will be shared at scientific conferences and in prominent journals.
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Led by Dr. Ben Porter, an infectious diseases trainee from Oxford, working in collaboration with Dr. Wanjiku Kagima at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, this initiative is a spin off from her successful PhD project on POCUS, also supported by our volunteers in 2022.
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The CMRAD platform will be instrumental in enabling two cardiac echo experts and a team of 8 general health workers from different countries in Africa to review and interpret the images.
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The scarcity of health workers proficient in advanced cardiac imaging in Sub-Saharan Africa underpins the significance of this study. By demonstrating the potential validity of a simplified ultrasound technique, we aim to empower healthcare workers with a portable, user-friendly tool, thereby broadening the reach of accurate cardiac diagnostics in the region.
Dr Ben Porter presenting preliminary findings at the RSTMH Annual Research in Progress meeting
Photo from the second in person ITARA Investigators meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, bringing together colleagues from UoL, KIDH, KEMRI, Imperial College London, Warwick University, as well as local community partners (Mkuta, NCD Alliance) and PHC leaders. Over five days, they met with study teams and visited local health facilities supporting the ITARA clinical study.
New collaboration to support TB and respiratory care in Africa
Worldwide Radiology is partnering with Imperial College London on the ITARA Study: Developing pathways to Integrated TB and Respiratory care in Africa.
Co-led by Dr Jamilah Meghji (Imperial’s National Heart and Lung Institute) and Professor Jeremiah Chakaya (Kenya Medical Research Institute), ITARA is an NIHR-funded programme working in Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria. It explores why TB and wider respiratory services are often delivered separately even though they share risk factors and symptoms and how care can be brought together in practical, person-centred ways.
As part of the partnership, Worldwide Radiology will provide expert interpretation of chest X-rays from study participants. Two consultant radiologists from our network will deliver readings and reports to support the research team’s understanding of lung health, including the links between TB, chronic lung disease and post-TB lung damage.
The study is funded through an NIHR research grant awarded to Imperial. We’re proud to contribute to this important work and will share updates as the project develops.
