A hospital in Bradford is using artificial intelligence to check patients for skin cancer. Staff at St Luke's Hospital say the system is helping them see more people and cut waiting times.
The dermatology team started using the technology in April. It is used to examine suspicious moles and skin lesions.
The AI system is called DERM, which stands for Deep Ensemble for the Recognition of Malignancy. It was developed by a company called Skin Analytics.
How the AI System Works
A healthcare assistant takes three photographs of a suspicious mole or lesion. The images are then uploaded to the system, which analyses them in minutes.
Patients with harmless, or benign, cases are given advice and sent home. Those flagged as suspicious are sent to a specialist as part of a one-stop clinic.
In Bradford, a clinician double-checks every image to make sure the diagnosis is correct. Skin Analytics says the AI is 99.9% accurate at ruling out melanoma.
The faster scanning means 32 patients can now be seen in each session. Before the AI was introduced, the clinic saw 24 patients per session.
Consultant plastic surgeon Zakir Shariff said the technology has had a "big impact" on waiting times. He said it is "excellent" at giving non-cancerous diagnoses within minutes.
The hospital trust said the number of unnecessary biopsies has fallen by about 10% since the system was introduced.
One Patient's Experience
Lawrence Patten, 73, was urgently referred to the clinic by his GP because of a suspicious mole on his back. He has multiple myeloma and has had skin cancer on his right forearm before.
The AI flagged the images of his mole as suspicious. A specialist doctor then examined him and said it was likely benign. The mole will still be removed and tested to confirm.
Patten, a former builder, said he was pleased to be seen so quickly. "The sooner they find things, the quicker they can sort it," he said.
Dr Nader Ghaderi, an associate specialist in dermatology, said the AI was right to flag the case. He said a doctor checking the mole without AI would also have ordered a biopsy or a follow-up.
Tom White, the trust's general manager for dermatology, said early evidence suggested AI could be a "game changer." He said it should reduce the number of urgent referrals dermatologists need to review, letting staff focus on the most urgent cases.
Bradford receives around 5,000 referrals each year for suspected skin cancer. Only about 8%, or 400 patients, are found to have malignant cancer.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has recommended the technology for NHS use for the next three years while evidence is collected. It is now used in 40 NHS hospital trusts, and Bradford Teaching Hospitals was the first in Yorkshire to adopt it.
