AI enabled breast cancer screening is reportedly helping patients at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust (HDFT), thanks to the introduction of a new scanner funded by £40,000 from the Harrogate Hospital & Community Charity.
The AI enabled HER2 tissue scanning system works by capturing high resolution digital images of breast cancer tissue samples, using an AI algorithm to help pathologists assess HER2 status by detecting the presence of the HER2/neu gene that can be a cause of breast cancer, the trust shares.
According to HDFT, this can mean pathologists are able to review samples more quickly, whilst still maintaining clinical oversight. This is just one of the ways the trust is using AI in the improvement of patient care, it states, with AI already in use in areas such as fracture diagnosis and chest x-rays.
Philippa Bleasdale, HDFT histology section manager, said: “This project has been a labour of love and will make a real difference for patients by delivering results more quickly and supporting faster treatment decisions. Whilst this technology will initially be used to improve the pathway for breast cancer patients, in the future it is hoped it can be used to assist with the interpretation of other biomarkers for different cancers, such as lung cancer.”
The trust has also created a video, published to YouTube Shorts, sharing the benefits and potential impact for patients.
Wider trend: Health AI
TidalSense, a Cambridge-based AI respiratory diagnostics company, has shared that it has successfully raised £16 million in funding to accelerate the European and US commercialisation of its AI diagnostic device for COPD. According to the company, its N-Tidal Diagnose software, CE marked under EU MDR (Class IIa) for COPD, “uses AI-analysed tidal breathing — rather than the forced exhalation required by spirometry — to deliver a fast, non-invasive diagnosis of COPD in under five minutes, without specialist training or hospital-grade equipment”.
Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has launched its seven-year digital and data strategic plan to 2033, with a key focus across four domains for the deployment of AI, covering clinical, operational, workforce, and patients, with each domain represented across five stages through the strategy. On the initial stage of AI deployment, AI will be used to support staff by processing and presenting information, with clinical functionality in summarisation, documentation, and ambient voice technology; operational functionality in reporting and basic analytics; workforce functionality in admin support and transcription; and patient functionality in information delivery and navigation.
The Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) has launched an investigation into the use of ambient voice technology (AVT) in hospitals, following engagement with stakeholders including representatives from national bodies that highlighted potential safety issues. “Intelligence gathered found that adoption of AVT is accelerating while the safety implications are not fully understood,” HSSIB details. “National literature and implementation activity has focused more strongly on efficiency benefits than on patient safety risk. There are also indications that routes for recognising and reporting AI-related incidents are not yet mature enough to provide confidence that emerging risks are being identified.”
