“GROUNDBREAKING” artificial intelligence technology could be improving cancer outcomes in Somerset.

It comes after Somerset NHS FT, which manages Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton, teamed up with a Cambridge tech company to become the first trust in the country to introduce its specialist ‘Pi’ AI tool.

The so-called Pi tool is being rolled out in Musgrove and Yeovil District hospitals, where it will help radiologists to detect prostate cancer, by using AI to analyse MRI scans.

Dr Paul Burn, a consultant radiologist at Somerset FT, explained how the trust came to be involved in the project.

“This all started when we participated in a multi-centre national trial, called ‘PAIR-1’, that assessed the effectiveness of Pi

“We then trialled a version of Pi at our trust, and we compared its results to radiologists’ reports in over 700 patients, to check that it would work for our purpose.

“The way it works is really simple – within a few minutes of the patient having their MRI scan, the Pi tool displays a number that gives a probability of cancer on the scan. It also shows the exact location of any tumours in the prostate by adding a colour overlay to the scan images. 

“The software is located securely on a server within the hospital, so no patient data leaves the trust.

“Using it, we expect to help relieve pressure within our hospital, by enabling patients to go through the diagnostic pathway more rapidly and reducing diagnostic waiting times. It will also support our clinical departments that have smaller numbers of MRI reporters to manage their workload.

“We know that we have to be very careful with the way we use AI, and it’s not intended to replace a human being in this context – instead it’s simply helping to speed up the workflow and potentially aiding our radiologists provide a more accurate diagnosis.

“In many ways we’re using it as a ‘reporting buddy’, so it’ll help with prioritising patients based on clinical need, and telling us which patients we should report on first because they have a higher probability of cancer. Pi also measures the volume of the prostate gland for us, a repetitive job that is time-consuming for radiologists to do manually.

“Patients with prostate cancer have a complicated diagnostic pathway, needing an MRI and a biopsy and it is often challenging to complete all the steps within the national 28 day Faster Diagnosis Standard.

“Our aim is that by using this AI software, we will be able to speed up the process and enable us to prioritise those with cancer. It’ll also free up our radiologists to report on additional patients every day, and may in future allow us to book the patient in for a biopsy more quickly.”

Oliver Kemp, CEO at Prostate Cancer Research added: “we are passionate about bringing the best diagnostics and treatments into clinical use to benefit prostate cancer patients. We are delighted that Lucida Medical has reached this tremendous milestone following PCR’s investment in the company and its revolutionary Pi technology.”