Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology that could help diagnose patients with life-threatening diseases more quickly has been introduced at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT).
The AI software developed by Annalise.ai, will significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of chest X-ray analysis, particularly for conditions like lung cancer.
The software is the latest AI solution that HDFT is using to transform services, improve care and cut waiting times for patients. Since July 2023, the Trust has used Radiobotics RBfracture, an AI solution which quickly and accurately detects trauma-related findings in X-rays, such as fractures and dislocations. All X-rays in HDFT are now read by AI in under 30 seconds of being taken. The abnormal cases are prioritised and a formal radiology report is issued to make sure the correct treatment is achieved sooner for our patients.
HDFT is the latest member of the Yorkshire Imaging Collaborative (YIC) – the collective name for the six NHS trust radiology departments working together across the West Yorkshire Association of Acute Trusts (WYAAT) – to introduce the technology. As well as HDFT, the tool is now live at Airedale NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust, with further trusts across West Yorkshire due to follow later in the year.
Every year, approximately 400,000 chest X-rays are taken across the six YIC trusts, which require interpretation by specialist radiologists or reporting radiographers. The software will act like a second pair of eyes for clinicians, allowing them to prioritise the review of the chest X-rays identified as suspicious or requiring further investigation. This will help to identify serious conditions, such as lung cancer, earlier.
People diagnosed with lung cancer at the earliest stage are 20 times more likely to survive for five years than those whose cancer is caught later. So, the faster trusts can review and assess X-rays, the quicker patients can receive their diagnosis and begin treatment. The chest X-ray software can detect up to 124 potential findings on chest X-rays in under a minute, streamlining the reporting process.[1]
Chest X-rays provide clinicians with useful information regarding the possibility of lung cancer and infections such as pneumonia or empyema, as well as helping to rule out other conditions such as fluid in the lungs or complications caused by misplaced feeding tubes. The software provides clinicians with comprehensively annotated images to help with clinical decision making.
Dr Daniel Fascia, Consultant Musculoskeletal Radiologist at HDFT and Clinical Lead for YIC, said:
This technology will greatly speed up the time it takes for clinicians across our trusts to accurately report and diagnose each X-ray, helping us to reduce historical backlogs in our organisations, spanning back to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This will be the sixth AI deployment YIC has been involved with in the last two years, and I’m grateful to our teams for their support throughout the deployment of this new technology.
Funding for this technology has been secured through NHS England’s AI Diagnostics Fund (AIDF), which was established to accelerate the deployment of AI imaging and decision support tools to help diagnose lung cancer patients more quickly. The funding will provide £21 million to 11 imaging networks, covering 64 NHS trusts across England, to support them with early lung cancer detection.
Dimitry Tran, Co-founder and Deputy CEO at Annalise.ai said:
Following successful deployment into clinical use across multiple NHS sites in the last two years, we are delighted that this announcement means our solution is being deployed across West Yorkshire and Harrogate. This will unlock significant benefits for many more patients and clinicians alike covering a third of all chest X-rays processed in the UK.
