LONDON,January 26,2024 – The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) is launching trials of artificial intelligence and robotic technology to accelerate the detection and diagnosis of lung cancer,the nation’s deadliest form of the disease. This initiative comes alongside a pledge to offer lung cancer screening to all smokers and former smokers by 2030.
Faster Diagnosis, improved Outcomes
The NHS aims to diagnose an estimated 50,000 lung cancers by 2035, with roughly 23,000 identified at an early stage, perhaps saving thousands of lives.
- Lung cancer claims 33,100 lives annually across the UK, averaging 91 deaths per day.
- The trial will be conducted at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS trust in London.
- AI will analyze lung scans for nodules as small as 6mm, while robotic assistance will refine biopsy procedures.
- Early diagnosis is crucial; it can considerably improve a patient’s chances of survival.
Lung cancer is a major focus of the government’s upcoming national cancer plan for England, reflecting historically high smoking rates. The disease disproportionately affects those in poorer communities, contributing to a nine-year life expectancy gap between England’s most and least deprived areas – lung cancer alone accounts for one year of that disparity.
NHS officials believe that integrating AI and robotic systems will enable doctors to identify more cases earlier, leading to quicker treatment and improved patient outcomes. “This is a glimpse of the future of cancer detection,” stated Prof.Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national clinical director for cancer.
The trial involves AI software meticulously analyzing lung scans, flagging even tiny lumps – some as small as 6mm (about the size of a grain of rice) – that are suspected of being cancerous. Following AI detection, a robotic camera will precisely guide miniature tools during biopsies, allowing for more accurate tissue sampling than current methods. This will help doctors examine potentially cancerous nodules that are currently arduous to reach and identify.
“If shown to be effective, the technology could help transform lung cancer diagnosis as the NHS screening program increasingly identifies more people with very small nodules that would previously have gone undetected until much later,” NHS England explained. “For many patients, weeks of repeat scans and procedures could be replaced with a single half-hour cancer biopsy, reducing prolonged uncertainty and avoiding more invasive surgery.”
The team conducting the trial has already performed approximately 300 robotic biopsies,resulting in cancer treatment for 215 individuals.
“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the UK, but diagnosing it at an earlier stage can significantly improve people’s chances of survival,” said Michelle Mitchell, chief executive of cancer Research UK. “New technologies like this have huge potential, and tests to ensure thay’re accurate and beneficial for patients in the
