A NEW study led by University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust is set to speed up colon cancer diagnoses.
A £2.6million research grant funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will aim to shed new light on how artificial intelligence (AI) can help transform biopsy screening.
The research will involve data from 10 NHS hospitals across the UK and over 10,000 biopsy samples.
The use of AI speeds up the diagnosis stage of colon abnormalities, such as cancers, by removing healthy cells from its analysis and flagging any unusual tissue.
The study will see scientists integrate AI into the screening procedure, and will attempt to ease the pressure placed on pathologists.
Prof Nasir Rajpoot from the University of Warwick – which is the academic partner in the study – said: “There is great potential for AI in pathology.
“In particular, our revolutionary technology can significantly reduce the burden of colon biopsy screening, helping pathologists focus on cases that require special attention.”
Co-lead Prof David Snead, consultant pathologist at University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire, added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to be able to take one the tools we have been creating in the study and test it across the UK.
“This will change the way pathology is delivered across the globe.
“Patients get faster diagnoses because the normal cases receive an automated report from the computer running 24/7.
“Pathologists can go straight to those samples which contain the disease and need their expertise and the NHS gets a huge help in dealing with the escalating workload and the need to diagnose cancer earlier.”
