The key goals of Astronomical AI are to create an AI tool that reduces waiting times for the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer and improve the workflow of the Oncology department. With this in mind, I came across a BBC Breakfast Segment which was followed up with a BBC article titled: ‘Cancer care delays: How bad are they in your area?’
The segment and article highlight a rise in long waits for cancer therapy in the last 4 years. The number of people waiting for cancer treatment in the UK has doubled since 2018, the number of people waiting for more than 62 days from referral to treatment (62 days being the maximum target wait time from the NHS, from urgent cancer referral to treatment being started) has risen to over 69,000. This is resulting in patients dying from long delays between diagnosis and treatment. (Please refer to the graph below to see a holistic representation) This is the problem that Astronomical AI is trying to solve with its state-of-the-art AI tool to detect and treat lung cancer earlier and reduce delays in treatment.
According to the Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Now- Delyth Morgan: ‘Doesn’t look like targets for cancer treatment are being met and looks like government are looking at changing targets… What would help is to have a workforce strategy, to have a clearer plan of how we are going to tackle real pressures there are in the system.’ This shows there is a real need within the NHS to tackle pressures via effective workforce and workflow systems to reduce the burden on the NHS, and this is what Astronomical AI is setting out to do with its workflow solution, to make the workforce within the NHS Oncology department more effective and to save lives by reducing wait time and catching cancer early.
Patients are being caused anxiety by waiting to discover whether they have cancer, and then for treatment to begin, and this is affecting mental as well as physical health. Steven McIntosh, of Macmillan Cancer Support, told the BBC: The delays were “traumatic” and people were living “day-by-day with fear and anxiety”. He called the situation unacceptable and could impact chances of survival. He describes the NHS as “chronically short-staffed” and says the NHS doesn’t have the staff it needs to diagnose and treat cancer, as well as provide care, support, and rehabilitation. The NHS does not have capacity to treat cancer patients fast enough, even though they are coming in earlier and it is being detected earlier, which is a result of short staff, meaning waiting times targets were not being achieved even before COVID. Charlotte Park, a cancer patient who has faced a long wait time says: ‘It was so frustrating. I just felt like I was hitting my head against a brick wall. I felt under a massive amount of stress…. I thought I was going to die at one point. You worry so much when you are waiting. Sadly, there are so many people out there in this position.’ This shows the impact longer waiting times for the initiation of treatment of cancer can have on patients’ mental wellbeing. It also highlights the lack of resources from the NHS to deal with the situation. This is where Astronomical AI’s AI tool can support NHS workers to reduce the pressures and burdens faced and alleviate the anxiety of longer wait times for patients.
According to the article investment The Royal College of Radiologists says there is a 17% shortfall in the UK in cancer doctors who oversee chemotherapy and radiotherapy. ‘Staff is the key to fixing this.’ Tom Roques, of the Royal College, said. ‘We desperately need a fully-funded workforce plan for the NHS that will recruit and retain the right numbers of staff that will be able to treat patients as quickly as we would all like.’ This shows the priority of the NHS regarding Oncology is staff shortages, however this is a tall order as shortfalls are projected to increase (from the current trajectory, exponentially). We can add massive value in this area with our workflow solution. Our tool will utilise the Oncology departments time more effectively and plug the hole of staff shortages with reduced staff burdens and technological innovation.
In the BBC segment it highlighted Lewisham hospital using a new kind of CT scanner that was faster enabling reduced waiting times. The new technology was able to scan more patients and produce better image quality and reduced scan times. This enabled the hospital to scan an extra 20 people a week on MRI scanner and extra 50 people a week on CT scanner, providing the trust with increased capacity. This shows the impact of better technological solutions on workflow, making the trust more effective as well as highlighting that the demand for cancer services is growing. However, although the throughput has increased, the problem of an oncologist assessing the CT scan for cancer still exists in terms of shortages and their capacity. Astronomical AI can fill this gap with our AI tool, whilst continuing to look at more ways to produce new and exciting innovative technological solutions, something that there is a clear need and appetite for within NHS trusts.
In the BBC segment NHS England says cancer treatment remains a priority and the DHSC says it has opened 90 community diagnostic centres. This article highlights the delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment and the impact that can have on mental health of patients. It shows the issues within the workforce and workflow on NHS oncology and the impact that is having on the lives of patients. It also shows the needs and appetite of the NHS for innovative technological solutions to level up NHS oncology to provide better outcomes. These issues are all at the forefront of Astronomical AI and what we hope to build for a brighter future for Oncology, we hope to revolutionise cancer scanning and treatment to produce a better system for cancer treatment and diagnosis.
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Adam (Head of Scientific Research)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-63573718
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