A half a million-pound collaboration between Kent researchers and NHS professionals will explore how AI-powered ‘virtual humans’ can be used by regional healthcare providers to make NHS services more accessible, efficient, and inclusive.
The TRANSFORM-VHT project will investigate how Virtual Human Technology (VHT) – AI-driven digital characters capable of holding natural conversations – can be integrated into both general and mental healthcare settings to support patients and clinicians. These virtual clinical assistants have potential to ease pressure on NHS staff by answering common questions, delivering information, and assisting with routine care tasks.
Funded through the UKRI EPSRC Health Technologies Connectivity Award, the project will see researchers from Kent and Medway Medical School, the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics and the School of Computing work together with two key NHS providers, Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust (KMPT) and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW).
The project places particular emphasis on supporting rural and coastal communities, where residents often face limited access to healthcare services and persistent health inequalities. By co-designing AI-powered tools with both clinicians and patients, the research team aims to deliver solutions that are inclusive, responsive, and grounded in real-world needs.
Professor Sukhwinder Shergill, Director of Research in Kent and Medway Medical School and Director of Research & Innovation at KMPT, will lead the project alongside Professor Jim Ang, Professor of Human-Computer Interaction, Kent and Medway Medical School and Academic Co-Director of Institute of Cultural and Creative Industries, with support from:
- Dr Alexandra Covaci, Senior Lecturer in Digital Arts and Technology in the School of Engineering, Maths and Physics
- Dr Giovanni Masala, Senior Lecturer in Computer Science, and Dr Ioanna Giorgi, Lecturer in Artificial Intelligence, in the School of Computing
- Professor Lisa Dikomitis, Professor of Medical Anthropology and Social Sciences in Kent and Medway Medical School
Professor Sukhwinder Shergill, said: ‘There is a lot of promise around the ability of AI and digital approaches to help patients and clinicians and this project brings the power of this research to real-life NHS challenges. We are extremely fortunate to have some of the most talented researchers and clinicians in this space working locally in Kent and Medway; it’s great to see their quality supported by this funding from the UKRI EPSRC.’