The National Pathology Imaging Co-operative (NPIC) at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has been awarded £5.1 million by the Government to enhance data infrastructure, which will support cancer and disease research. This funding aims to accelerate and improve the accuracy of diagnosing cancer and other diseases.
Early diagnosis is crucial for improving survival rates and recovery, especially for cancer patients. With this investment, NPIC will be able to collect and share digital pathology data from across the NHS, facilitating easier access for researchers. The goal is to establish a national digital pathology platform for cancer diagnosis within the NHS, utilising this data to train advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) models.
This investment brings new hope for treating and curing various diseases. Secure access to data will enable researchers to gain fresh insights into cancer, its prevention, and treatment. The project is part of the NHS Data for Research and Development Programme, which aims to provide rapid access to the world’s largest linked health datasets for research purposes.
Professor Phil Wood, Chief Executive at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, said: "The investment in Artificial Intelligence represents further hope in helping us to diagnosis cancer and other diseases. By leveraging NPIC’s digital pathology platform, we can support researchers with their investigations into various conditions, including cancer, so that they can both spot how to prevent disease and also find the next generation of treatments and cures faster.”
Professor Darren Treanor, Director of National Pathology Imaging Co-operative, NPIC said "NPIC welcomes the new Government's announcement.
“The investment in Digital Pathology and working with the National Secure Data Environment (SDE) will accelerate research in artificial intelligence for improving cancer diagnosis for patients.”
Dr Daljeet Bansal, Operations Director, National Pathology Imaging Co-operative, NPIC, said
"We are excited that NPIC will be providing the National Digital Pathology platform for research. The investment will build on our research infrastructure to provide researchers with safe and secure access to digital pathology images and datasets for developing and evaluating artificial intelligence models and support clinical trials”
Image credit: NHS
