Lavanya Rangarajan
Policy Coordinator (Health), Policy Connect
Digital diagnostic innovations can tackle UK cancer treatment backlogs, saving lives and meeting patient demands. Technology enables early detection and treatment.
Digital diagnostic innovations can help an understaffed and under-resourced health service to prevent a possible 20,000 avoidable cancer deaths annually by 2040. It can also ensure Britain meets the growing demand from cancer patients for early diagnosis and treatments.
Harnessing technology for cancer detection innovation
Recent technological innovations, such as the AI platform being developed by Dell and the University of Limerick, will showcase how predictive and diagnostic research in oncology can significantly improve early cancer detection and alleviate NHS backlogs.
The Department for Health and Social Care’s (DHSC) adoption of digital pathology to screen for certain cancer types is a timely step to accelerate cancer detection and treatment by improving lab efficiency, enabling second opinions on samples and expediting diagnosis. Digital pathology is a crucial component of the DHSC’s 2023 ‘Medtech Strategy,’ which sets out how medtech innovations can improve assessments of health risks.
With a general election approaching, the next
government has clear incentives to continue
developing a long-term cancer strategy.
Investing in diagnostics cuts wait times
Research and investment in innovative technology have also enabled the DHSC to highlight the benefits of early cancer diagnosis. According to recent official figures from the DHSC and the NHS, increased investment in community diagnostic centres through the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) programme has helped reduce waiting times in the past two years.
Cancer Research UK have also highlighted the economic benefits of improvements in cancer research; prevention and care help to reduce health and social care costs and can improve workforce productivity and quality of life.
Government urged to prioritise cancer strategy
With a general election approaching, the next government has clear incentives to continue developing a long-term cancer strategy that complements and builds on the ‘Medtech Strategy’ to enable the early adoption of diagnostic innovations. The UK’s ambitions to lead in science and innovation may yet depend on the Government’s ability to define this strategy.
Early adoption of digital innovation can relieve the NHS backlog, increase the resources and professional bandwidth of healthcare professionals and, crucially, serve patients promptly to increase survival rates.
