The NHS Cancer Programme, supported by SBRI Healthcare and the Accelerated Access Collaborative has awarded £14.4 million to seven innovations that improve the early detection and diagnosis of cancer.
The innovations utilise the latest technologies and complement existing processes, while enhancing efficiency, coordination and communication throughout the diagnosis pathway.
They include a project to increase the uptake of national screening programmes with smart targeting of low-uptake subgroups, lung cancer screening for people who have had high-risk Hodgkin Lymphoma, and the use of AI to improve the early diagnosis of prostate cancer.
The 'Innovation Open Call' was developed and is led by the NHS Cancer Programme, supported by SBRI Healthcare and the Accelerated Access Collaborative.
All of the innovations have proven their efficacy and clinical effectiveness and are ready for real world testing and roll out to improve the outcomes of patients.
The call specifically looked for approaches and products in the late stages of development that will increase the proportion of cancers that are diagnosed at stage one or two and welcomed creative, future-proof innovations including medical devices, in vitro diagnostics, digital health solutions, behaviour interventions, software, artificial intelligence, and new models of care.
The call was open to single organisations based in the UK or EU from the private, public and third sectors, including companies, charities, universities and NHS providers, and applicants could apply for up to 24 months of funding.
The call supports the NHS Core20PLUS5 initiative to reduce health inequalities.
This was the third call. The first announced £9 million of funding for eight high potential innovations, and the second announced £12.1million of funding for six high potential innovations.
The innovations were chosen by a panel of clinical, implementation and industry experts with representation from patients and the public.
The awarded projects are:
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust - awarded £2,254,634 - Accelerating Lung Cancer Diagnosis Through AI-Guided Robotic Navigation Bronchoscopy
A new diagnostic pathway combining AI-powered nodule risk stratification (Optellum) with robotic bronchoscopy (Intuitive ION) to improve early lung cancer diagnosis. The project aims to streamline multidisciplinary decision-making, reduce delays and repeat procedures, enhance the patient experience, and enable faster, safer biopsies for small lung nodules.
Cyted Health - awarded £1,849,778 - The Community Pharmacy Assessment for Barrett’s Oesophagus and Reflux Symptoms (Project COMPASS)
Project COMPASS is bringing EndoSign® capsule sponge testing to pharmacies through a partnership between Cyted Health, Boots, and Cancer Alliances. The project aims to find those at risk of oesophageal cancer by tracking reflux medication purchases and reaching underserved communities.
Quibim Ltd – awarded £2,599,917 - Optimising Prostate Cancer Detection: Integrating QP-Prostate to Elevate Early Diagnosis Rates in NHS Pathways - Real-World Implementation Study
QP-Prostate® is a software based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) that helps radiologists by automatically identifying potential prostate cancer. The project will evaluate if QP-Prostate® can increase the number of prostate cancer diagnoses and the proportion of cases diagnosed at an early stage from each participating hospital across England.
Lucida Medical - awarded £2,252,379 - AI-assisted prostate MRI for improving early detection and diagnostic efficiency of prostate cancer within the NHS
Pi™ is AI-based medical software that automatically analyses MRI scans for prostate cancer, the UK’s most common cancer in men. Pi™ will be used by hospitals to improve accuracy and efficiency, help to quickly decide which patients need further investigations like a biopsy, and pilot a same-day biopsy service, enabling much faster diagnosis.
University of Exeter – awarded £2,497,373 - HELP Flag: Age- and Sex-Stratified Upper Thresholds for Platelet Count in Primary Care-Ordered Blood Tests for Expedited Cancer Diagnosis
HELP Flag harnesses natural variation in platelet count to identify patients at risk of cancer. It includes a laboratory-based alert for routine primary care blood tests that have high platelet counts, and provides an evidence-based pathway for GPs to triage patients with raised platelets.
The University of Manchester and NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre – awarded £1,294,330 – SEARCH: Implementing and Evaluating Lung Cancer Screening for high-risk Hodgkin Lymphoma survivors within the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme
SEARCH is a national multicentre project aimed at implementing and evaluating extended eligibility criteria and a modified risk calculator for screening of high-risk Hodgkin lymphoma survivors within the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programe.
Appt Health - awarded £1,677,781 - Increasing the uptake of national screening programmes with smart targeting of low-uptake subgroups
Appt Health is an automated patient engagement platform that boosts cancer screening uptake through personalised, behaviourally informed outreach. This project focuses on increasing cervical and lung screening attendance in underserved populations by using data-driven targeting, co-designed messaging, and streamlined booking to reduce inequalities and support earlier diagnosis.
About the NHS Cancer Programme
The NHS Cancer Programme leads the delivery of NHS England’s ambitions for cancer. More information about the work of the programme can be found at england.nhs.uk/cancer/harnessing-innovation-in-cancer-care
About SBRI Healthcare
SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) Healthcare provides funding and support to innovators to develop solutions that tackle existing unmet needs faced by the NHS. The programme aims to improve patient care, increase efficiency in the NHS, and support the UK economy. The programme provides funding and support to early-stage projects enabling testing for business feasibility and technology development, as well as to more mature products to support real world implementation studies. SBRI Healthcare is funded by the AAC and delivered in partnership with the Health Innovation Network.
About the Accelerated Access Collaborative
The Accelerated Access Collaborative is a unique partnership between patient groups, government bodies, industry and the NHS. It delivers ambitious programmes to ensure the NHS is in the best place to improve patient outcomes and reduce health inequalities through research and innovation. It does this by identifying the best new medicines, medical devices, diagnostics and digital products. It supports providers and integrated care systems to make them available to patients as quickly as possible.