The network connects the regions of West Yorkshire, Harrogate, York, Hull, and North East England, enabling shared knowledge and procedures as well as research partnerships. Areas of focus are the development and validation of automated image analysis and AI tools for the diagnosis of cancer with existing exemplars in breast cancer, skin, and lung cancer. ‘Research partnerships in AI diagnostics and clinical trials will be of benefit for patients and the public,’ added Dr Bansal. The scale-up of the NPIC network will also include two national specialist networks; one in paediatric tumours, the other focusing on bone and soft tissue tumours. ‘There will be a national knowledge and training centre, customised data sets for AI and research, and research partnerships in AI diagnostics and clinical trials,’ the expert went on. ‘Training will be a key component with hands-on workshops and training for pathologists and biomedical scientists, a centre for industry/NHS collaboration, and a multiple scanner platform for research and AI.’
In cooperation with Genomics England, a company of the UK Department of Health and Social Care, NPIC will also create an image library to complement the genomic and clinical data for each patient and develop pathology-genomic correlation. Dr Bansal stressed the importance of the network as the first and largest-scale project in terms of digitisation, calling the project a ‘key element of a national digital pathology vision in the UK’. She concluded: ‘It will be a platform for many applications: clinical diagnosis; digital pathology and life cycle of AI to establish ourselves as the national digital pathology system platform for use in the NHS and AI research, supporting clinical trials and diagnostic innovation.’
Profile:
Dr Daljeet Bansal is Operations Director of NPIC (National Pathology Imaging Co-operative), overseeing the scale-up of digital pathology across hospitals across the North of England and two national networks. NPIC is a unique collaboration between NHS, Academic and Industry partners, in a network that will also develop artificial intelligence tools to help diagnose cancer and other diseases.
Source: Healthcare in Europe
