Northern Ireland deploys AI tool through Sectra to spot fractures

AI that helps clinicians accurately identify bone fractures has been deployed across Northern Ireland through Sectra Amplifier Services.

Sectra Amplifier Services, provided by Northern Ireland’s enterprise imaging partner Sectra, enables healthcare organisations to integrate tools directly into their existing imaging workflows.

Using the service, the region’s Business Services Organisation (BSO) Northern Ireland Picture Archiving and Communication System (NIPACS+) Programme has rolled out BoneView, a fracture detection algorithm developed by AI firm Gleamer.

It has been rolled out in emergency departments and minor injury units across all five of Northern Ireland’s Health and Social Care (HSC) trusts.

The deployment, which follows a successful trial at Northern HSC Trust, is anticipated to have widespread benefits and is expected to help clinical teams examine more than 300,000 bone X-rays a year.

Dr Anton Collins, consultant radiologist and senior responsible officer of the NIPACS+ Programme, said: “We’ve closely studied how our ED clinicians have benefitted from this innovative use of AI. This has helped to increase accuracy in the emergency department to a similar level seen in radiology.

“The result: fewer missed fractures, improved clinical decisions, enhanced care, and fewer patients being called back.

“As we expand the tool across all trusts, we are supporting staff in delivering the right diagnosis for patients first time. This is not replacing radiologists or radiographers; it is an important way to help busy healthcare teams deliver efficient and effective care.”

NIPACS+ has been providing diagnosticians and clinical teams with a single point of access for medical images across multiple disciplines, and has been modernising how radiology, pathology, and other diagnostic services within HSC can collaborate and better harness technology for patient care.

Further uses for AI already being explored could help in areas including chest X-rays and digital pathology, where potential exists to help clinicians detect diseases and cancers sooner. Once assessed, NIPACS+ will be able to achieve similarly rapid deployment.

Sectra, which is also Northern Ireland’s enterprise imaging solution provider, managed contractual, integration, and technical components of the deployment, allowing the AI to scale as needed.

Jane Rendall, UK and Ireland managing director at Sectra, said: “Northern Ireland is a genuine pioneer in integrated diagnostics at-scale. NIPACS+ is a global exemplar in bringing together diagnostic images as an enabler for transforming how services can work together.

“It remains a privilege to continue to support the programme, one which I know personally is inspiring and informing how diagnostic services in other parts of the UK can modernise.”

In April 2025, Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) signed a five-year contract with Sectra, allowing medical images to be consolidated into an accessible vendor neutral archive and integrated with CHI’s electronic patient record, so that clinicians can easily access imaging and reports.