The National Institute for Health and Care Research has awarded funding of £1.5 million to Leeds Teaching Hospitals as part of national funding to increase the NHS’s ability to deliver high-quality commercial research, to be used toward four initiatives including the development and validation of AI imaging algorithms to improve diagnostic accuracy.
The trust plans to use the funds to purchase a HistoSonics pioneering non-invasive platform, expanding its use of sonic beam therapy (histotripsy) to advance research into new cancer therapies. Trials conducting liver tumour therapy and kidney tumour treatment showed evidence that this led to faster recovery times, shorter hospital stays, and reduced complications, it states. Now, the use of the technology will be explored for treating additional types of cancer.
Funding will also go toward developing critical infrastructure required to support a new simulated surgical operating suite, aimed at evaluating the environmental impacts of surgical innovations, driving connectivity with partners, and accelerating joint research between the NHS and academia. The facility, which will be housed at Leeds General Infirmary, will now be equipped with new equipment to accelerate the development and deployment of greener surgery technologies.
Investment will be made to evaluate an AI-enabled handheld cardiac ultrasound device, aimed to help speed up heart failure diagnosis in GP practices, and to work toward the development and validation of AI imaging algorithms to improve diagnostic accuracy and support clinical decision-making.
Planning and procurement is to begin “immediately”, according to the trust, with new equipment and infrastructure hoped to be in place by the end of summer 2026.
“The trust is a world-leading centre for excellence and these initiatives demonstrate how we’re already delivering against the NHS Ten Year Plan by ensuring our research and innovation enables more communities to benefit from life-changing research which supports prevention and accelerates the adoptions of digital and AI,” CMO Magnus Harrison states. “Together with our partners across academia and industry, this additional investment will allow us to expand our research and create the right environment for world-class clinical studies so we support today’s challenges and transforming the healthcare of the future.”
Wider trend: NHS innovation
The board of North London NHS Foundation Trust has shared details of work to improve efficiency, reduce running costs, and eliminate non-value adding tasks with the use of digital tools and AI. Mobilising AI solutions to free-up time to care through a ten percent reduction in time spent on non-clinical activities year-on-year is noted, and increasing the use of digital skills by upskilling the workforce to reduce time spent on non-value adding tasks by five percent year-on-year.
Augmented reality technology is being used at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust to help patients and clinicians visualise women’s health conditions such as endometriosis and prepare for surgical excision. The technology offers a large-scale, close-up view of anatomically precise 3D models, aiding clinicians in explaining diagnoses or disease progression to patients, and improving understanding of complex women’s health conditions like deep infiltrating endometriosis and uterine fibroids. Clinicians are able to interact with the model from their computer, enlarging specific regions to show disease impact, and illustrating precisely where areas of endometriosis will be excised during surgery.
Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust has received funding from NHS England to lead on the roll-out of functionality allowing patients to manage their appointments and visits directly from the NHS App. The trust’s implementation will be shared with 11 NHS trusts using SystmOne across the country. Once live, information from the trust’s EPR will enable patients to view previous and upcoming appointments, receive appointment notifications and documents, and book, cancel, or amend their appointment details, in the NHS App. It also allows patients to fill in questionnaires to update their records, helping trusts to stay informed.
