Three NHS Trusts are using AI software for diagnosing prostate cancer

Published: 5-Aug-2024

The ARTICULATE PRO study has expanded the deployment of AI in the prostate cancer pathway to three NHS trusts

Three NHS trusts are evaluating a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) diagnostic system that is part of the ARTICULATE PRO study at the Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences. 

ARTICULATE PRO is a two-year project, funded by the Accelerative Access Collaborative and NHSx through a Phase 4 AI in Health and Care Award. 

The project officially began on 1 September 2021 and the study investigates the deployment of AI (computer assisted technology) in the prostate cancer pathway by using Paige Prostate Suite to assist pathologists when reading prostate biopsies.

The Paige Prostate Suite is a diagnostic AI system comprised of three AI applications

The three NHS trusts participating in the study are:

  • Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust
  • North Bristol NHS Trust
  • University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust 

Each hospital uses different digital pathology scanners and information systems and serves distinct patient populations, but are all adding Paige’s AI applications to their standard of care to determine the potential to improve patient outcomes against a background of rising instances of prostate cancer. 

The Paige Prostate Suite is a diagnostic AI system comprised of three AI applications designed to help pathologists detect, grade and measure tumours in prostate biopsies and tissue samples. 

Using this system alongside our standard of care has the promise to increase efficiency and improve reproducibility of results for patients

Pathologists at these three hospitals are assessing how Paige Prostate Suite impacts their clinical decision-making, pathology service delivery, and use of resources in a real-world setting. 

With this use across multiple hospitals, pathologists can assess the ways Paige’s AI technology can best serve patients, histopathologists, and hospital systems for prostate cancer diagnosis. 

This development is the latest achievement of the ARTICULATE PRO study, funded by the Accelerated Access Collaborative (AAC) Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award, overseen by the Department of Health and Social Care. 

We believe AI can help to improve the accuracy and consistency of grading cancer and assist in detection of small areas of cancer which are easy to miss

Dr Jon Oxley, uropathologist and Bristol lead of ARTICULATE PRO, said: “I have studied the disease and progression of prostate cancer in clinical research for over 25 years, it is a significant advancement that Paige’s AI system has achieved a level of validation and performance that allows safe and effective live clinical use. Using this system alongside our standard of care has the promise to increase efficiency and improve reproducibility of results for patients.”

Dr Bidisa Sinha, uropathologist at UHCW, added: “We believe AI can help to improve the accuracy and consistency of grading cancer and assist in detection of small areas of cancer which are easy to miss. This is world-leading research being carried out at UHCW. We are proud to be a global leader in the field of digital and computational pathology.”

 

Top image: Professor Clare Verrill and colleague using the AI pathology software

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