Northern Ireland Deploys AI Tool Through Sectra to Spot Fractures

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Northern Ireland Deploys AI Tool Through Sectra to Spot Fractures

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Northern Ireland's Business Services Organisation (BSO) NIPACS+ Programme has rolled out Gleamer's BoneView fracture detection AI across emergency departments and minor injury units in all five of Northern Ireland's Health and Social Care (HSC) trusts, deployed through Sectra's Amplifier Services platform. The deployment is expected to support clinical review of more than 300,000 bone X-rays per year. Following a successful trial at Northern HSC Trust, BSO deployed BoneView region-wide using Sectra Amplifier Services, which enables healthcare organisations to integrate third-party AI tools directly into existing PACS imaging workflows. The deployment means ED clinicians at any HSC trust can access AI-assisted fracture detection on plain film X-rays alongside their standard reporting workflow, without separate application launch. "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," said Dr. Anton Collins, consultant radiologist and senior responsible officer of the NIPACS+ Programme. Technically, the integration relies on Sectra's Amplifier Services framework: BoneView runs as a plugin invoked at the point of imaging acquisition, with AI findings returned as a DICOM secondary capture overlay that radiologists and ED clinicians can review directly in the Sectra PACS. This vendor-neutral approach allowed BSO to deploy Gleamer's algorithm across the entire HSC estate without per-site custom integration. The deployment spans 5 HSC trusts and approximately 300,000 annual X-rays, making it one of the largest region-wide AI imaging rollouts in the UK. Sectra, which is also Northern Ireland's enterprise imaging solution provider, managed contractual, integration, and technical components. "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," said Jane Rendall, UK and Ireland managing director at Sectra. Future direction per NIPACS+ leadership: extending the Sectra Amplifier pattern to chest X-ray AI and digital pathology, with similarly rapid rollout expected once vendors are selected.