Prostate Cancer Detection System under Evaluation

A prostate cancer detection software system developed by US company Paige is to be evaluated in a multicentre clinical study led by Oxford University as part of a successful NHSx Artificial Intelligence Health and Care Award application.

Paige Prostate automatically highlights areas of suspicious tissue for quick assessment and can also measure and grade the severity of tumours it detects, which assists the pathologist in diagnosing cancer and influencing treatment decisions in patients with prostate cancer. It will initially be used by Oxford University and its NHS partners, North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire, together with Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, prospectively in a real-world cancer laboratory setting

Oxford University was one of five lead organisations to receive Phase 4 funding, announced by the former Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock on 16 June 2021. The AI Award is a significant government initiative making £140 million available over four years to accelerate the testing and evaluation of artificial intelligence technologies which meet the aims set out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

Professor Clare Verrill from Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Principle Investigator on the project, said, 'I see this both as a natural evolution and key transformational point for histopathology. With this award we can advance the adoption of powerful technology to help pathologists by demonstrating the system-wide potential of using AI-based diagnostic systems in routine reporting.'

Dr Margaret Horton, Business Lead for Europe at Paige and a co-Investigator on the project said, 'The NHSx program provides the ideal catalyst for the system-wide adoption of artificial intelligence-based technologies such as Paige Prostate to improve efficiency, accuracy and patient and staff experiences. The pathologists and principal investigators in this study are global leaders in the implementation of digital pathology and utilising innovation to advance diagnostic service delivery.'

Dr Leo Grady, Chief Executive Officer of Paige, commented, 'Computational pathology for diagnostics has clear potential to increase diagnostic accuracy and more efficiently utilise scarce diagnostic resources in the NHS and in other health systems around the world. The next clear step to bring this to routine practice is pathologist-led implementation in every day practice to demonstrate and measure benefits to patients, laboratories and the NHS. This exciting work with Oxford University and their NHS partners is a tremendous achievement and Paige is very proud to be working with them in transforming the important work that pathologists do.'

This histopathologist-led study builds on investments made in digital pathology technology and infrastructure as part of the PathLAKE Centre of Excellence for digital pathology and artificial intelligence. Professor Verrill’s experimental pathology work is supported by the NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.

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