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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.

Contact Information:

Miss Fiona Smith
+44 (0)7929371620
fiona.smith32@nhs.net


More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.

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Be Part of Research - Trial Details - Exploring if artificial intelligence can be used to help monitor patients after surgery
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Exploring if artificial intelligence can be used to help monitor patients after surgery

Recruiting

Open to: All Genders

Age: Mixed

Newcastle upon Tyne Livingston

Medical Conditions

Microvascular free flap failure

This information is provided directly by researchers, and we recognise that it isn't always easy to understand. We are working with researchers to improve the accessibility of this information. In some summaries, you may come across links to external websites. These websites will have more information to help you better understand the study.


The surgical repair of complex wounds sometimes requires the movement of tissue from one area of the body to another. The new tissue is “plumbed” into the new location by joining the blood vessels under a microscope. This type of surgery is called microvascular free flap surgery and whilst overall success rates are very good there can be problems in the first three days that require intervention in theatre. If these problems are identified early there is a greater chance of salvage and hence, doctors and nurses conduct frequent checks of the patients and the flap after the operation. These routine post-operative checks include measuring the patient’s observations (e.g. heart rate and blood pressure), assessing the flaps' colour and temperature and using a Doppler ultrasound machine to hear the blood flow to the flap. This study investigates if a computer model, trained on images of free flaps and routine free flap monitoring data, can detect problems with free flaps earlier and more accurately than human assessment.

Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.  

The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:

21 Oct 2024 26 Jul 2025

For patients who choose to participate in the study, their microvascular free flap surgery will go ahead as normal, but in addition to the normal checks after the operation, photographs will also be taken of the flap at least twice a day. Once patients have completed the normal observation period and been discharged home, their flap photographs and monitoring data will be anonymised and collected for the study. A computer program will then be used to analyse the flap photographs and patient data. As this analysis is done after the patient has completed their treatment and been discharged home, it will not impact their care. The knowledge gained from analysing study participant's data will be used to make a tool that could help monitor other patients’ free flaps after surgery.


Adult patients aged over 16 years old undergoing microvascular free flap surgery at either of the participating hospitals (St Johns Hospital, Livingston or the Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle) will be invited to take part in the study.

You can take part if:



You may not be able to take part if:


1. Children (<16 years old)2. Patients who lack the capacity to consent for inclusion in the study


Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.

  • The Royal Victoria Infirmary
    Queen Victoria Road
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    NE1 4LP
  • St Johns Hospital
    Howden Road West, Howden
    Livingston
    EH54 6PP

There will be no direct benefits for patients who participate in the study but by allowing us to use their data we can hopefully build a model that could be used in the future to improve monitoring after free flap surgery for other patients.
There is a small risk for patients included in the study that when we take photographs of their flap there could be things in the background that could be used to identify them. To reduce this risk all photographs are cropped so that only the flap is in the image. Furthermore, taking photographs in clinical settings is very carefully regulated and all regulations will be followed to make sure patient photographs are protected.

Miss Fiona Smith
+44 (0)7929371620
fiona.smith32@nhs.net



More information about this study, what is involved and how to take part can be found on the study website.


The study is sponsored by The University of Edinburgh; NHS Lothian and funded by UK Research and Innovation.



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What will you do next?
Read full details for Trial ID: ISRCTN36476735

Or CPMS 63913

Last updated 16 October 2024

This page is to help you find out about a research study and if you may be able to take part

You can print or share the study information with your GP/healthcare provider or contact the research team directly.   

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