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HPO Driver: AI-Driven Phenotype Extraction for IBD SDE Network Genomic Association

Lay Description

This project introduces a secure, open-source tool designed to address a critical data gap in the care of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). By leveraging natural language processing (NLP), the project aims to automatically extract and structure key patient health information, such as comorbid conditions and patient-reported symptoms, from unstructured clinical notes that are often overlooked in standard electronic health records (EHRs). The system ensures patient privacy through de-identification, and its accuracy will be clinically validated. The primary goal is to create a rich, research-ready dataset that, when combined with genetic information, will accelerate discoveries of genotype-phenotype associations, supporting more personalised and effective treatments for IBD patients across the NHS.

Public Benefit Statement

IBD patients frequently have comorbid conditions that are overlooked in standard EHRs. By accurately capturing these phenotypes as HPO terms, the NHS can improve patient stratification and deliver more personalised and effective treatments. This project builds on these needs, offering a validated and deployable pipeline to transform unstructured clinical data into actionable, research-ready datasets.

Further information

Health Category (HCRS Category)
Oral and Gastrointestinal
Project Status
Live - Data in use 
Research Organisation
University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust
Contracting organisation
Unique ID
Date of counter-signed DAA/DSA
Period of DAA
1 year