Brainomix is set to partner with the TIPAL trial group to assess its e-Lung platform, an artificial intelligence-powered image processing module and tool.

The partnership will carry out a sub-study to evaluate the efficacy of the platform.

The TIPAL trial is a placebo-controlled, 52-week, multi-centre study that assesses the impacts of lansoprazole and will involve 298 patients who will conduct home spirometry tests to measure their forced vital capacity.

Lansoprazole is a medication prescribed for heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux, in patients diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

The Brainomix sub-study will be conducted in parallel by leveraging its e-Lung platform.

The platform helps standardise the quantification of lung fibrosis on high-resolution CT scans for precisely identifying patients with progressive fibrosis.

Meanwhile, this platform focuses on an imaging biomarker, the weighted reticulovascular (WRV) score.

This score quantifies the extent to which reticulovascular abnormalities affect the lung and has proven to offer better prognostic value against traditional measures.

Determining the difference in change in WRV score between lansoprazole treatment and placebo is the primary aim of the sub-study.

TIPAL chief investigator professor Andrew Wilson said: “It is great to have the chance to incorporate the cutting-edge CT scanning technology developed by Brainomix into the TIPAL study.

“Not only will this venture tell whether lansoprazole improves the scarring detected on CT scans, but it will allow us to compare CT scan abnormalities to home-based lung function tests.”

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust sponsored the TIPAL trial, which is funded by the National Institute of Health Research.