A digital health collaboration consisting of The Scottish Government, University of Glasgow, Qure.ai and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) is rolling out the AI-powered chest X-ray reporting solution, qXR, across Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city, for approximately 70,000 chest X-rays per year. The aim is to detect lung cancer earlier to improve patient survival. It is part of a national coordinated evaluation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in radiology to improve patient outcomes, plus prove clinical and cost effectiveness.

Lung cancer is the most common cause of death in Scotland with around 5,500 cases diagnosed each year, predicted to increase by 29% for women and 12% for men by 20271. By detecting cancer earlier, from GP-referred chest X-rays in an outpatient hospital setting, the patient pathway to CT scan or treatment planning can be streamlined. This will save time and potentially improve patients' outcomes and quality of life.

Professor David Lowe, Professor of Health Innovation at the University of Glasgow and Emergency Consultant at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde states, “Worldwide healthcare systems have a significant challenge in the detection of lung cancer. At present, nearly 50% of patients present with advanced or stage 4 cancer, leading to poorer outcomes. If we can spot cancer earlier, by speeding up the time and accuracy of the 100,000 chest X-rays performed each year at NHSGGC, we can improve time to further imaging, and subsequent treatment. Qure’s chest X-ray AI will help orchestrate benefits for the whole patient care pathway.”
The Qure.ai qXR solution automatically segregates ‘normal’ chest X-rays and flags abnormalities such as masses or lung nodules, enabling the prioritisation of patient case reporting for clinicians. This could potentially speed up the start of a patient’s care journey from weeks to days.

“By diagnosing lung cancer earlier, at stage 2, more than 35% of patients diagnosed with cancer will survive for longer than five years. This rises to more than 55% if diagnosed at stage 1. This is in stark contrast to less than 5% five-year survival at late-stage 4 diagnosis2,” states James Blackwood, eHealth AI Strategy and Portfolio Lead at West of Scotland Innovation Hub and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. “AI is ready for adoption into clinical practice within this area of national priority. Products such as qXR from Qure.ai will help us to detect lung cancer early, and this project will establish reliable evidence of impact and value.”

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