AI Diagnostic Fund
The AI Diagnostic Fund will provide funding to accelerate the deployment of the most promising AI imaging and decision support tools to help diagnose patients more quickly.
£21 million will be provided to 11 imaging networks, covering 64 NHS trusts across England, to speed up the roll out of AI diagnostic tools.
The AI Diagnostic Fund will prioritise certain technologies, such as tools that can support clinicians to analyse chest X-Rays - the most common tool used to assist a diagnosis for lung cancer - which is the leading cause of cancer death in the UK. With more than 600,000 chest X-rays performed each month in England, the deployment of diagnostic AI tools will potentially assist clinicians in diagnosing cancer earlier, which will improve patient outcomes.
We are working with the National Institute for Health and Care Research to develop in-service evaluations for the tools that are deployed, which will help to address the gaps in evidence highlighted by NICE’s Artificial intelligence-derived software to analyse chest X-rays for suspected lung cancer in primary care referrals: Early Value Assessment guidance and evidence generation plan.
For developers of AI tools to be considered they must have joined the Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) Artificial Intelligence Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). For information, join our AI Diagnostic Fund workspace.
This is a separate programme to the AI Deployment Platform pilot, which is testing a platform approach to AI deployment in two imaging networks. More information on this pilot can be found on the AI Deployment Platform page.
Imaging networks
Below are the 11 imaging networks that will receive funding from the AI Diagnostic Fund.
