TAMESIDE Hospital has started using new technology to help doctors detect diseases quicker.
Bosses at Tameside and Glossop NHS Integrated Care Foundation Trust – which runs the Ashton-based hospital – say the artificial intelligence (AI) tool will enhance efficiency and care quality within lung cancer detection.
Other hospitals across Greater Manchester are using the tool, which will also be rolled out at seven NHS trusts across the region over the next few months.
It’s part of a partnership between Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, Greater Manchester Imaging Network and global health tech firm Annalise.ai.
The tool can detect up to 124 findings on chest radiographs using an AI-powered chest X-ray decision-support system to read chest X-rays.
When the Annalise.ai chest X-ray solution identifies potential lung cancer cases, the information is relayed to the reporting medical provider in under a minute. This allows healthcare professionals to prioritise the review of the chest X-rays identified as suspicious, helping to detect – or rule out – cancer more quickly.
The tool is being integrated through Sectra Imaging – an imaging IT provider to health systems worldwide – and funded from the Artificial Intelligence Diagnostics Fund.
The need to detect cancer more quickly is particularly urgent in Greater Manchester, where lung cancer rates sit at 24 per cent above the national average and life expectancy is lower than in England as a whole.
The project forms part of a wider programme of work being led by the Greater Manchester Cancer Alliance, with the aim of improving cancer outcomes and experiences for the region’s population of 2.8 million people.
“We are proud to welcome this emerging technology,” said Dilraj Sandher, Medical Director at Tameside and Glossop NHS Integrated Care Foundation Trust.
“This is an excellent tool to aid our clinicians in the earlier detection of lung cancer for patients in Tameside and Glossop, and we are looking forward to seeing the results.”
Chris Sleight, Chief Officer at Greater Manchester Imaging Network, added: “We are thrilled to have been awarded the funding from the Artificial Intelligence Diagnostics Fund 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.”