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, but more needs to be done 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.

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

The AI Lab Skunkworks

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

AI in Imaging

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

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 will harness 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.

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Understand AI

Report

Artificial Intelligence: How to get it right

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

Navigate Regulation Evaluate AI Design and Build AI Commission AI
Understand AI

External Resource

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

Navigate Regulation Manage Change
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

Navigate Regulation Commission AI Manage Change
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

External Resource

New business horizons in the AI landscape

In this blog, Innovate UK outlines programmes and collaborations it’s supporting to address the adoption and innovation of AI at pace and scale

Access Funding Manage Change
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

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.

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Develop AI

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Code of Conduct for data-driven health and care technology

The code 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

Design and Build AI Commission 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.

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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.

Navigate Regulation Commission AI
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

Navigate Regulation Design and Build AI Commission 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

Navigate Regulation Design and Build AI Commission 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

Design and Build AI Commission AI Manage Change
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Blog posts

Evaluating AI in health and care is essential

Kassandra Karpathakis (Head of AI Policy, NHSX), Brhmie Balaram (Head of AI Research and Ethic, NHSX), Daniel Bamford (Deputy Director AI Award, Accelerated Access Collaborative)
AI Lab AI

The NHS AI Lab - one year on

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

The power of data in a pandemic

Ming Tang, Matthew Gould (Chief Executive, NHSX), Dr. Indra Joshi (Director of AI, NHSX)
Data COVID-19 AI
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