A UK-based Nigerian Software Engineer and AI Researcher, Chukwunonso Ikemba, and his colleagues have developed an artificial intelligence tool designed to translate complex medical reports into plain, patient-friendly language.

Ikemba, who works at the Centre for Intelligence of Things (CloTh), University of Greater Manchester, led the study introducing an AI-powered radiology report analyzer aimed at closing long-standing communication gaps between clinicians and patients.

Other members of the research team include Dr. Pradeep Hewage, Dr. Anchal Garg, and Muhammad Asad.

The research paper drawn from the innovation titled, “Enhancing Health Literacy in Radiology Reports using Large Language Models”, has been published in the IEEE Xplore digital library. The project received support from the Jenkinson grant, an internal funding scheme of the University of Greater Manchester, and was conducted in collaboration with industry partner Translaited Ltd.

According to the research team, the system uses Natural Language Processing and Large Language Models to detect technical medical jargon in uploaded reports and provide simplified explanations alongside relevant visual aids. The goal, according to them, is to turn traditionally dense reports into formats patients can easily understand and act upon.

Ikemba explained that poor comprehension of medical reports remains a persistent problem in healthcare delivery.

“In healthcare communication, technical jargon in medical reports is hard for patients to understand. This lack of clarity may lead to follow-up appointments and non-adherence to treatment, with adverse effects on patient outcomes,” he said.

The team tested the tool on radiology reports across dentistry, cardiology, and endocrinology. Findings showed significant improvements in readability, understandability, and actionability when compared with conventional reports.

While standard radiology reports typically require university-level reading ability and are often classified as difficult, the AI-translated versions could be understood by individuals with roughly junior secondary school education.

Healthcare professionals who evaluated the system reported that patients were nearly twice as likely to understand their medical information when assisted by the AI tool, recording 94 percent comprehension compared with 56 percent using standard reports. Patients also demonstrated better awareness of the next steps required after reviewing their results.

The researchers said the innovation responds to a wider global health literacy challenge. Existing studies indicate that 42 percent of working-age adults in England struggle to understand common health information, while 61 percent have difficulty interpreting health materials that include numerical data.

Poor health literacy has been linked to higher levels of anxiety and depression among patients, as well as delayed treatment that can worsen medical outcomes.

The AI system introduces three main features. It automatically identifies and simplifies medical terminology with clickable definitions. It provides context-sensitive anatomical diagrams and clinical images. It also includes an interactive chat interface that allows patients to ask follow-up questions specific to their reports.

To validate accuracy, healthcare professionals from Bolton Community Practice CIC and a medical panel member of the General Medical Council’s Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service independently assessed both the original and AI-translated reports using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printed Materials.

The evaluation produced 92 percent confidence intervals, indicating strong reliability across different medical specialties.

Looking ahead, the team plans to expand the system’s visual support for non-anatomical medical terms and conduct broader real-world testing.

Ikemba noted that although the early results are promising, the tool must undergo thorough user testing before deployment in hospitals or radiology centres. He stressed that all AI-generated explanations should continue to be reviewed by qualified healthcare professionals to ensure accuracy and patient safety.