AI tool to help detect lung cancer deployed in Greater Manchester
- 21 November 2024
- AI technology that helps detect diseases such as lung cancer quicker is being rolled out at seven trusts within the Greater Manchester Imaging Network
- The rollout is part of a partnership between Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, Greater Manchester Imaging Network and global health tech firm Annalise.ai
- The solution has already gone live at six trusts between August and November 2024, with one more deployment to take place in the coming months
AI technology is being rolled out at seven NHS trusts within the Greater Manchester Imaging Network to help doctors detect diseases, including lung cancer, quicker.
The solution from global health tech firm Annalise.ai uses AI-powered X-ray decision-support which can detect up to 124 findings on chest radiographs.
If potential lung cancer cases are identified, the information is relayed to the reporting medical provider in under a minute, helping healthcare professionals to detect or rule out cancer more quickly.
It is being rolled out across Greater Manchester as part of a partnership between Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, Greater Manchester Imaging Network and Annalise.ai, funded through the Artificial Intelligence Diagnostics Fund (AIDF).
The £21 million AIDF, announced by NHSE in June 2023, aims to spur the deployment of AI and machine learning tools that can speed up the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness including cancer, stroke and heart conditions.
Chris Sleight, chief officer at the Greater Manchester Imaging Network, said: “We are thrilled to have been awarded the funding from the AIDF to help bring faster diagnosis of chest X-rays for our patients.
“This is such an exciting advancement to help us improve the detection of lung cancer earlier in the patient pathway, and therefore better prognosis.
“We are delighted to be working with Annalise and the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance on such an important programme for our patients.”
The technology went live at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust in August 2024, followed by Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust in October 2024.
Deployment then followed at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care and Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trusts and Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust in November 2024.
Wes Streeting, health and social care secretary, said: “When I was diagnosed with cancer, a world-class surgeon equipped with a robot helped save my life – showcasing the very best of our NHS.
“Breakthroughs like this AI tool will help to save lives across the country, speeding up diagnosis so that doctors can provide the best possible treatments to patients sooner.
“As part of our 10 year health plan, I am determined that we embrace this kind of innovation and shift the health service from analogue to digital, so more patients can get their lives back.”
The solution will be integrated through IT provider Sectra Imaging, across the Greater Manchester Imaging Network, with the aim of enabling a comprehensive evaluation of the technology across the region, which has a population of 2.8 million people.
Following tender wins under the AIDF, the Annalise.ai chest X-ray tool will also be available to radiologists across the North East and North Cumbria Imaging Network, Cheshire and Merseyside Radiology Imaging Network, East Midlands Imaging Network, Surrey, Sussex and Frimley Imaging Network, and the Yorkshire Imaging Collaborative.
A 2023 study, led by researchers from The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust in collaboration with The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Imperial College London, found that AI could help doctors diagnose lung cancer earlier.
