Researching patient deterioration with the US Department of Veterans Affairs

Were excited to announce a medical research partnership with the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), one of the worlds leading healthcare organisations responsible for providing high-quality care to veterans and their families across the United States.This project will see us analyse patterns from historical, depersonalised medical records to predict patient deterioration.Patient deterioration is a significant global health problem that often has fatal consequences. Studies estimate that 11% of all in-hospital deaths are due to patient deterioration not being recognised early enough or acted on in the right way.Alongside world-renowned clinicians and researchers at the VA, we are analysing patterns from approximately 700,000 historical, depersonalised medical records in order to determine if machine learning can accurately identify the risk factors for patient deterioration and correctly predict its onset.Were focusing on Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), one of the most common conditions associated with patient deterioration, and an area where DeepMind and the VA both have expertise. This is a complex challenge, because predicting AKI is far from easy. Not only is the onset of AKI sudden and often asymptomatic, but the risk factors associated with it are commonplace throughout hospitals.