The Health and Social Care Secretary in the UK this week launched a new ‘AI Diagnostic Fund’ which granted £21 million to the NHS to support the deployment of AI and ML driven tools that support earlier diagnosis and quicker time to treatment. The government body also committed to rolling out AI stroke diagnosis technology to 100% of stroke networks by the end of 2023.

Why is it notable?

• The fund will be applicable to a wide range of disease areas. NHS trusts will be able to bid for funding to accelerate the deployment of AI diagnostic tools for conditions such as cancer, strokes and heart conditions, though trusts will have to justify their requests in terms of value for money. An area of focus is the application of AI driven chest x-ray analysis for early detection of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the UK.

• The commitment to rolling out AI-driven stroke diagnosis technology nationwide represents a dramatic increase of 86% from the current national coverage of such tools. The use of AI decision support software in the initial stages of stroke care enables earlier intervention, reducing the likelihood of long term disability. The NHS have already garnered real world evidence for the positive impact of AI decision support in stroke patients. The widespread expansion of these technologies has potential to significantly impact patient outcomes in stroke care in the UK.

Industry implications:  

• Diagnostic services are under strain in the UK, and this investment is a welcome step in embracing innovation that could boost capacity and reduce wait times for patients. AI shows great promise in maximizing efficiencies in clinical decision making and prioritising patients. However, there is still a way to go, with reports commenting on how this funding overlooks primary care completely, in which AI-driven innovation would ultimately have a knock on effect throughout the care system. There is also opportunity for AI to impact administrative workload considerably to further free up clinician time.

• This is the most recent in a string of commitments from the UK government in advancing AI. The UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, recently announced that AI giants OpenAI, Google’s DeepMind and Anthropic were to provide ‘early or priority access’ to all their AI models as a means to support research into evaluation and safety of the AI. The government also announced a new AI & Digital Regulation Service to help NHS staff find the right information and guidance when it comes to deploying AI devices safely. This has made it easier for developers and adopters of AI to understand regulations governing AI in the NHS and is saving them time in bringing products to market. Furthermore, the Royal College of Radiologists is creating a first of its kind AI registry in imaging in order to streamline and facilitate the adoption of AI imaging technology in NHS sites. 

• The AI revolution has entered the mainstream in recent years, and the emergence of new powerful models has the potential to revolutionise healthcare. Time will tell how these recent investments in AI by the NHS will impact patient outcomes in the years to come.

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