An innovative AI and robot pilot to detect lung cancer earlier has been launched in the UK.
The project at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust has been hailed as ‘a glimpse of the future of cancer detection’.
Using AI software to rapidly analyse lung scans and flag small lumps most likely to be cancerous, a robotic camera then guides biopsy tools through the airways with far greater precision than standard techniques.
The robot can reach nodules as small as 6mm hidden deep in the lung, which are often too risky or difficult to access using existing methods.
Once AI has highlighted higher-risk areas, surgeons can take a precise tissue sample, which is sent to specialist laboratories and reviewed by expert cancer teams to confirm or rule out cancer.
The pilot comes alongside plans for the NHS to expand lung cancer screening, ensuring that every eligible person is invited for checks within five years, no matter where they live, continuing the Government’s drive to tackle inequalities in cancer outcomes as part of the National Cancer Plan.
Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s national clinical director for Cancer, said:
‘Our lung cancer screening programme means we are picking up more cancers at an early stage than ever, and by bringing AI and robotics together in this trailblazing NHS pilot, we’re bringing in the very latest technology to give clinicians a clearer look inside the lungs and support faster, more accurate biopsies. This is a glimpse of the future of cancer detection. Innovation like this is exactly how we can help diagnose more cancers faster, so treatment can be most effective, and why the NHS continues to lead the way in bringing new technology safely into frontline care.’
Dr Anne Rigg, medical director for cancer and surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘This pilot brings together artificial intelligence and robotic technology as genuinely disruptive tools to simplify and shorten the lung cancer diagnostic pathway. By combining AI-enabled risk stratification with highly precise robotic biopsy, we are reducing delays and unnecessary steps to diagnosis. Crucially, this work is being co-designed with patients and frontline clinical teams, ensuring that the pathway is not only faster, but safer, more equitable, and centred on the patient experience. By improving access to advanced diagnostics, we can help reduce variation in care for all patients, regardless of where they are referred from.’
The team has already carried out around 300 robotic biopsy procedures, with 215 people going on to receive cancer treatment, while others were spared more complex procedures after benign results.
From January, the pilot formally launches at Guy’s and St Thomas’, with planned expansion to King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, allowing more patients referred with suspected lung cancer to benefit from the new approach.
