A team led by Dr Jemma Kerns from Lancaster Medical School has been awarded £1.5M by the EPSRC to develop a tool to predict and diagnose bone disorders for the first time.
The novel tool will measure bone chemistry using lasers, providing a safe and effective way to predict and diagnose bone disorders so that they can be treated early, improving long-term outcomes. No such technology currently exists.
The team will work with people with lived experience of musculoskeletal conditions and healthcare professionals to design and develop the tool for use in a range of community settings.
The device will be portable and can be placed in different places such as a GP surgery, pharmacy, community centre, religious building or leisure centre. This will increase access to healthcare services while reducing hospital visits.
Professor Charlotte Deane, Executive Chair of EPSRC, said: "Diagnosing health conditions early and in a way that works for people's everyday lives is vital. By enabling care closer to home as well as earlier intervention, this will help shift the system from treatment to prevention, improve outcomes, tackle health inequalities, and ease pressure on hospitals."
One third of UK adults have a musculoskeletal condition, which is the leading cause of disability, sick days and early retirement. Living with a musculoskeletal disability is associated with health inequalities and deprivation and is the biggest cause of reduced life expectancy.
The health data obtained with the tool can be used to predict and diagnose genetic and ageing-related musculoskeletal conditions at an early stage. It could also be used to track changes in an individual over time.
Dr Kerns said: "Preventing disease progression will maximise the longer-term health benefits for people and ease pressure on the NHS, reducing the need to visit hospital. Early diagnosis can also reduce the cost of treatment or surgery."
The project involves adapting an existing prototype instrument into a new, more flexible design that is portable and robust. The proposed design will use the laser-based technique (spatially offset Raman spectroscopy; SORS) to shine a light on skin to measure the bone below. Importantly, SORS does not use ionising radiation allowing safe repeated use on adults and children alike, unlike X-ray technologies used in hospitals.
Dr Kerns said: "Establishing this new portable technology will be a game changer for musculoskeletal management and will pave the way for other conditions, such as bone and breast cancers to be more readily diagnosed and treated."
The other members of the team include Dr Amy Saunders, Dr Leonie Unterholzner, Dr Olaug Grude, Dr Claire Mann from Lancaster University, Prof Pavel Matousek and Prof Anthony Parker from the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Prof Helen Birch and Dr Nai-Hao Yin from University College London and Prof Marwan Bukhari from University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust.
Professor Marwan Bukhari, Consultant Rheumatologist, UHMBT, and Honorary Clinical Professor at Lancaster University, said: "I am delighted to be part of this pioneering project which has the potential to transform how we diagnose and manage musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoporosis.
"Collaborating with Lancaster University on this innovative technology is a fantastic opportunity to bring together clinical insight and academic expertise to find practical solutions to bone disorders. This tool could significantly improve early diagnosis and long-term outcomes for patients as well as easing the burden on hospital services by preventing fractures."
The team will continue to remember and acknowledge the late Professor Allen Goodship of UCL who was instrumental in the development of this project.
