Excellence in Patient Programmes

Summary of work

Chronic liver disease patients are at risk of developing hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a potentially fatal complication of liver cirrhosis. HE often goes undetected and untreated but monitoring cognitive performance can provide an early warning that patients are at risk.

Our client had previously developed paper and digital cognitive tests as a diagnostic tool. Clinical evaluation established these tests as ’gold standard’. However, no solution supported automation of regular testing, analysis or real-time sharing of data with HCPs.

LiverSync® is the first app/medical device of its kind for patients at risk of developing HE. The bespoke algorithm analyses patients’ cognitive test performance to identify concerning trends and triggers notifications to patients and their carers to seek help, whilst prompting HCPs to call the patient in for review.

The HCP’s real-time view is enabled via a custom API that facilitates secure transfer of encrypted data from the patient’s app. Patients remain in control of this connection, authorising HCP access in the first instance, with the ability to revoke access at any time.

LiverSync®’s continuous monitoring facilitates earlier intervention, empowering patients to manage their own condition, minimising hospitalisation, reducing the burden on carers and enhancing HCPs’ ability to prioritise patients.

Judges' comments

There was a clear red thread in this entry with regards to specific insights and implementation and the judges agreed it was thoughtfully carried out. The real objective is a long-term one which was not achievable in the short-term and the judges were intrigued to see what becomes of the programme following the pilot.