Data Use Application 012
Lead applicant organisation name
Name of the legal entity that signs the contract to access the data.
University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; Newcastle University. Lead applicant: Jeffry Hogg, Clinical Research Associate and Honorary Clinical Fellow
Project title
The title of the project/research study request that the applicant is investigating through the use of health data.
Replication of a non-inferiority study of artificial intelligence versus consultant-led-care treatment monitoring for known neovascular age-related macular degeneration
Lay summary
A concise and clear description of the project. This should outline the problem, objective and the expected outcomes in language that is understandable to the general public.
Wet age-related macular degeneration (Wet AMD) is a severe form of the commonest cause of blindness in the UK. Wet AMD, also called neovascular AMD, is treatable using multiple injections into the eye. Some half a million of these injections are given by the NHS each year. The NHS struggles to keep up with the demand on services, and people with Wet AMD may have their treatment delayed, which potentially leads to irreversible sight loss. Preliminary research involving new technology in treatment decisions for Wet AMD patients attending Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has the potential to allow us to improve both the amount and quality of care the NHS service could give. To evaluate this finding, the research needs to be repeated in other specialist centres (external validation).
Any healthcare intervention can impact people differently. When research discovers something that applies to one group of people, we cannot assume it is true for everyone, everywhere. This project repeats the research from Newcastle on patient records from elsewhere before the technology is used in patient care. This project assesses if potential technology-led treatment decisions for people living with Wet AMD are as safe as those currently made for patients by NHS clinicians located in Birmingham and London.
Public benefit statement
A description in plain English of the anticipated outcomes, or impact of project on the general public.
Some NHS services are already considering this technology for use in Wet AMD care, but are unsure how well it will work for their patients. The project will share the results of this research publicly to help different services deciding whether to use the technology. If the project finds that the technology does not work well, then resources could be redirected to explore other improvements for patients. If the findings from Newcastle are replicated, then this research will promote the safe introduction of the technology across the NHS to reduce the delay to treatment and the risk of sight loss. This research also serves the potential to free up capacity in the eye clinic for other patients who are waiting to see eye doctors.
Latest approval date
The last date the data access request for this project was approved by a data custodian.
9 September 2024
Dataset(s) name
The name of the dataset(s) being accessed.
Bespoke, neovascular age-related macular degeneration dataset
Access type
Determines whether the data will be accessed with an Trusted Research Environment (TRE) or via data release.
Data Access Agreement. Data provisioned to the research applicant through INSIGHT's Secure Research Environment.
Data sensitivity level
The level of identifiability of the data being accessed, as defined by Understanding Patient Data.
Anonymised