Minister backs call to tackle fake drugs

Technology: AI solution for fractures

North-east robot and artificial intelligence groups are being funded to try to find hi-tech solutions to bone fractures.

Such injuries can be the scourge of hard-pressed A&E departments.

Now Opportunity North East and the Scottish Government have revealed five organisations to share £240,000 for a project looking into how robots can help.

Bering, Red Star AI, SeeAI, Jiva.ai and the Department of Computing Sciences at Aberdeen University were chosen.

The first phase will be over a 12-week period.

The organisations will receive £20,000 each for a feasibility study to create AI or machine learning algorithms that can interpret data from radiographs to diagnose fractures.

The study will focus on injuries to hands, wrists, ankles or feet, and the groups will work with NHS Grampian, Aberdeen University, and Canon Medical Research Europe.

Then two will be selected from the five to progress to the second phase – prototype development and testing – receiving £70,000 each over a nine-month period.

The surge in NHS Grampian tranquilliser-related hospital admissions is part of a “highly disturbing” trend in the fake drugs black market, a UK Government minister has said.

Aberdeen South Tory MP Ross Thomson raised the issue of the “silent killer” at Westminster’s

Scottish Affairs Committee inquiry into problem drug use yesterday.

The MP spoke after new figures showed 389 Grampian patients were admitted in connection with powerful benzodiazepine sedatives in 2018/19, up from 246 the year before and 236 in 2016/17.

Mr Thomson said: “In my constituency in particular, NHS Grampian has posted year-onyear spikes in hospital admissions to do with the likes of fake Xanax.”

Asked if Police Scotland “needs to be better armed” to address the issue Home Office minister Kit Malthouse said: “Both in England and Scotland, I think this is an area where we’re going to have to develop our expertise if we want to get ahead of this problem.”