The NHS AI Lab

Accelerating the safe adoption of Artificial Intelligence in health and care

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to make a significant difference in health and care settings through its ability to analyse large quantities of complex information. We’re already seeing great applications of AI technology, and more work is underway to fully harness its benefits and use AI safely and ethically at scale.

The NHS Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (AI Lab) was created to address that challenge by bringing together government, health and care providers, academics and technology companies. If you work in AI for health and care, get involved by joining our AI Virtual Hub.

Find out more about the NHS AI Lab

AI Award funding

Developing a national AI strategy

AI Lab programmes

The NHS AI Lab creates an environment for collaboration and co-creation by bringing together programmes which address significant barriers to development and deployment of AI systems in health and care. This will unlock the potential of AI to revolutionise healthcare, whilst ensuring NHSX can determine the right guidance and regulations to protect patients.

NHSX is working in partnership with several government and NHS partners to deliver NHS AI Lab programmes and also provides funding to support projects that look to use AI to address the detection of disease and research into multiple long-term conditions.

The Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award

The AI Award supports technologies across the spectrum of development from initial feasibility to robust evaluation.

The AI Lab Skunkworks

The Skunkworks is helping the health and care community to take AI ideas from scratch to a proof of concept.

AI in Imaging

The AI Lab is supporting the development of imaging technology; from mechanisms used to safely collect and share data to validating AI imaging software.

The AI regulation ecosystem

The AI Lab is running programmes to enable a world leading, safe and ethically robust regulatory ecosystem for the development and deployment of AI technologies.

The AI Lab Ethics Initiative

Integrating ethics into the AI life cycle in a patient-centred and inclusive way to ensure the safe, ethical and effective adoption of artificial intelligence in health and care.

The National AI in Health and Adult Social Care Strategy

The NHS AI Lab is developing a national strategy for AI supporting the equitable deployment of safe, and effective AI-driven technologies at scale.

Accelerating Detection of Diseases

The AI Lab is supporting the ADD research programme which will help detect common diseases earlier and allow more people to live healthier lives for longer.

Multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity)

The Artificial Intelligence for Multiple Long-Term Conditions fund is harnessing the potential of artificial intelligence and data science to address the challenges of multiple long-term conditions (multimorbidity).

AI resources in health and care

Explore our guidance, case studies, reports and blog posts to find out about challenges faced by individuals and organisations working with AI in health and care and discover their solutions and best practice.


Understand AI

Are you trying to better understand AI and its potential in health and care?

Learn about AI and its potential to transform health and care.

Browse all
Understand AI

Report

Artificial Intelligence: How to get it right

Putting policy into practice for safe data-driven innovation in health and care.

Evaluate AI Commission AI Navigate regulation Design and build AI
Understand AI

Resource Collection

AI in adult social care

A collection of case studies that show the potential for AI to improve outcomes and increase choices for adult social care service users

Manage change
Understand AI

Report

Creating an international approach to AI for healthcare

White paper: AI for healthcare: Creating an international approach together.

Evaluate AI Commission AI Manage change Navigate regulation Design and build AI
Understand AI

External Resource

European Respiratory Journal: using imaging to combat a pandemic

The National COVID-19 Chest Imaging Database (NCCID) is a repository of chest radiographs, CT and MRI images and clinical data from COVID-19 patients across the UK, to support research.

Access datasets Design and build AI
Understand AI

How data is supporting the COVID-19 response

This page summarises the ways data is supporting the Covid-19 response and measures taken by NHSX to ensure data is used lawfully

Evaluate AI
Understand AI

External Resource

CDEI AI Barometer

The Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (CDEI) AI Barometer is an analysis of the most urgent opportunities, risks, and governance challenges associated with AI and data use in the UK

Manage change Navigate regulation
Understand AI

External Resource

Machine learning in diagnostic and screening services

The Care Quality Commission report looks at what care providers and tech suppliers need to do so that people receive high-quality care through machine learning applications for diagnostic purposes

Commission AI Manage change Navigate regulation
Understand AI

External Resource

Data-driven healthcare: regulation & regulators

Reform has been working with NHSX to produce easily understood information on the regulation of data-driven technologies in healthcare

Navigate regulation
Understand AI

External Resource

The Dstl Biscuit Book

The Biscuit Book, by data science experts at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) AI Lab, helps customers understand AI

Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

Cogstack

Cogstack is an open source real-time data warehousing tool meeting the need for an efficient way of coding that improves financial and operational efficiencies for NHS providers.

Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

Precision medicine

Precision medicine considers variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle to decide disease treatment and prevention, more accurately predicting which treatment and prevention strategies will work best for a particular patient.

Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

EMRAD

Emrad is a partnership of seven NHS trusts spread over 11 hospitals, covering more than five million patients, to create a new, common digital radiology system.

Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

Kortical

Kortical is building artificial intelligence models to predict demand and supply levels in, for example different blood types, allowing for patient needs to be met more precisely.

Design and build AI
Understand AI

External Resource

Artificial Intelligence Sector Deal

The Government's AI Sector Deal outlines a package of support for the AI and big data sector from government, industry and academic organisations

Access funding
Understand AI

External Resource

The Industrial Strategy AI Mission

The Grand Challenges set out the government’s mission in developing AI and data driven technologies, including the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of chronic diseases

Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

Remote intelligent monitoring and predictive analytics to support people in their optimal care setting

London Borough of Bexley

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Acoustic monitoring integrated with electronic care planning

Friends of the Elderly, Allycare and KareInn

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Predictive analytics to assess risk and trigger care interventions

Cera Care - Concern Predictor

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Intelligent monitoring for proactive care

Birdie & Medacs Healthcare

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Remote monitoring of vital signs

Lifelight and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Remote monitoring for early detection of respiratory conditions

Feebris, Havering Health and Care City

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Assessing pain in people with dementia who cannot self-report

PainChek case study

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

User-centred service design via free text analytics

London Borough of Islington

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Predictive analytics: responding to a post-COVID-19 world

Worcestershire County council

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Joined-up demand analysis for health and care

City of Wolverhampton Council

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Predictive analytics triggering workflows to support carers, prevent falls and reduce loneliness

Nottinghamshire County Council

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Analytics and decision support to improve workforce retention

Skills for Care

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Decision support for care workers about their next best actions

Cera Care - Dynamic Tasks

Manage change
Understand AI

Case Study

Matching demand for social support with supply through geospatial mapping and a digital marketplace

The Tribe Project

Manage change
Understand AI

Resource Collection

The NHS AI Lab 1st anniversary event

The NHS AI Lab turned one in 2020. We held an event on 24 September to outline progress one year on and priorities moving forward; as well as showcasing AI Award winners and addressing AI hot topics such as regulation and evidencing effectiveness.

Evaluate AI Commission AI Manage change Navigate regulation Access funding Design and build AI
Understand AI

Resource Collection

Artificial Intelligence (AI) funding streams

This page provides information on the funding streams available for AI-related projects in the health and social care sector in the UK.

Access funding Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

SMART box boosts regional data to the NCCID

As part of a programme to boost data collection to the National COVID-19 Chest Imaging Database, a new SMART box delivers regional data with one simple installation.

Validate AI Evaluate AI Access datasets Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

Healthy.io: Smartphone albuminuria urine self-testing

Patients with diabetes and high blood pressure are benefiting from pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) that turns a smartphone camera into a clinical-grade tool to detect early kidney disease.

Evaluate AI Commission AI Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

Mia mammography intelligent assessment

Applying deep learning artificial intelligence to breast cancer screening.

Validate AI Evaluate AI Commission AI Design and build AI
Understand AI

Case Study

Using AI to support NHS Resolution with negligence claims prediction

Exploring how AI might help the NHS to understand and identify risk - preventing harm and saving valuable resources.

Design and build AI

Develop AI

Are you trying to develop AI for use in health and care?

Find resources to help you design and build AI solutions that meet the requirements of the NHS and social care.

Browse all
Develop AI

External Resource

The Guide to Good Practice for data-driven health and care technology

The guide sets out the behaviours the government expects from those deploying and using data-driven technologies in health and care

Navigate regulation Design and build AI
Develop AI

External Resource

Explaining decisions made with AI

This guidance by the ICO and The Alan Turing Institute aims to give organisations practical advice to help explain the processes, services and decisions delivered or assisted by AI, to the individuals affected by them

Navigate regulation
Develop AI

External Resource

Explainability in data-driven health and care technology

Future Advocacy was commissioned by NHSX to produce this guidance on Principle 7 of the NHS Code of Conduct on data-driven health and care technology, which relates to the explainability of algorithms

Navigate regulation
Develop AI

External Resource

Evidence standards framework for digital health technologies

NICE’s standards aim to make it easier for innovators and commissioners to understand what good levels of evidence for digital healthcare technologies look like

Commission AI Design and build AI
Develop AI

Case Study

Data Lens: a fast-access data search in multiple languages

A pilot project for the NHS AI Lab Skunkworks team, Data Lens brings together information about multiple databases, providing a fast-access search in multiple languages

Design and build AI
Develop AI

Case Study

Using machine learning to identify patients at risk of long term hospital stays

Case study: Investigating the benefits of artificial intelligence applied to hospital admissions data

Access funding Design and build AI
Develop AI

Report

AI Award research contract

This document provides the NHSX funding agreement for AI in Health and Care Award Phases 3 and 4.

Evaluate AI Commission AI Access funding Design and build AI

Adopt AI

Are you trying to adopt AI for use in health and care?

Understand best practice in commissioning AI and get inspired by learning how organisations overcome challenges they faced adopting AI.

Browse all
Adopt AI

Report

A Buyer’s Guide to AI in Health and Care

This guide sets out important questions you need to consider to make well-informed decisions about buying AI products.

Commission AI Navigate regulation
Adopt AI

External Resource

Reporting guidelines for AI clinical trials - the SPIRIT-AI and CONSORT-AI extensions

SPIRIT-AI are guidelines for clinical trial protocols and CONSORT-AI are for clinical trial reports for interventions involving artificial intelligence.

Evaluate AI
Adopt AI

External Resource

Understanding AI ethics and safety

The Alan Turing Institute's guide for the responsible design and implementation of AI systems in the public sector

Commission AI Navigate regulation Design and build AI
Adopt AI

External Resource

A guide to using artificial intelligence in the public sector

This GDS and Office for AI guide sets out rules on ethics and safety for everyone involved in the design, production, and deployment of AI

Commission AI Navigate regulation Design and build AI
Adopt AI

External Resource

Guidelines for AI procurement

A summary from the Office for AI of best practice addressing the specific challenges in acquiring artificial intelligence technologies in government

Commission AI
Adopt AI

External Resource

Assessing if AI is the right solution

Guidance from GDS and the Office for AI to help choose the right AI technology for a public sector challenge

Commission AI
Adopt AI

External Resource

Preparing the healthcare workforce to deliver the digital future

The Topol Review outlined recommendations to ensure the NHS is the world leader in using digital technologies to benefit patients

Commission AI
Adopt AI

External Resource

HealthTech Connect

HealthTech Connect is a secure, online database of devices, diagnostics and digital health technologies that are intended for use in the NHS or wider UK health and care system

Commission AI Manage change Design and build AI
Explore all resources

Blog posts

Using AI to predict long-term hospital stays: an AI Skunkworks proof of concept

Giuseppe Sollazzo
AI Artificial Intelligence AI Lab Skunkworks AI

Round 3 of the Artificial Intelligence in Health and Care Award is now open

Dr. Indra Joshi (Director of AI, NHSX)
AI Lab AI

New opportunity to test AI driven COVID-19 models on the largest database of COVID-19 chest images in the UK

Dom Cushnan (Head of Imaging, NHSX)
AI Lab AI
View all AI posts