Nearly £10 million in funding is to be provided to eight new projects in cancer diagnostic innovation. These projects cover blood tests, artificial intelligence, mobile phone technologies, diagnostic software and are set to transform cancer diagnoses into the future. All of these projects are being fast-tracked into the NHS in order to maximise the efficient diagnosis of cancers in UK patient pathways.
The NHS has set ambitious targets for earlier diagnosis of cancers, and from 2028, an extra 55,000 people each year will survive for five years or more following their cancer diagnosis; and three in four cancers (75%) will be diagnosed at an early stage. The new projects aim to help the NHS deliver its Long Term Plan. This funding is part of an annual series run by the NHS called the ‘Innovation Open Call’.
One example of these projects is a blood test for cancer diagnostics, known as the pinpoint test, which can ‘rule out one in five patients from having one of the nine most common cancers’. The PinPoint Test identifies both high-risk and very low-risk patients, leading to a reduced “number of people needing these tests, improve the patient experience and allow doctors to fast-track those at highest risk, improving the early detection of cancer”.
You can read the full list of funding project winners here
