Andrew Wade

£50m boost for UK research in healthcare AI

News

Five new centres for healthcare AI (artificial intelligence) are set to open next year across the UK, backed by £50m in government funding.

Imaging, diagnostics and pathology are fast becoming major frontiers in healthcare AI research, and it is these areas that the new facilities will focus on. The five centres - London, Glasgow, Oxford, Leeds and Coventry - will be based at universities and NHS facilities and are expected to get up and running during 2019.

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/deepmind-ai-50-eye-diseases/

Financial backing comes via the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, which is managed by the recently established UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under which EPSRC and Innovate UK now operate. Academic and industry experts will work side by side, with medical companies including GE Healthcare, Siemens, Philips, Leica, Canon and Roche Diagnostics involved in the initiative.

“Early diagnosis of illness can greatly increase the chances of successful treatment and save lives,” said UKRI chief executive Professor Sir Mark Walport.

“The centres announced today bring together the teams that will develop artificial intelligence tools that can analyse medical images varying from x-rays to microscopic sections from tissue biopsies. Artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionise the speed and accuracy of medical diagnosis.”

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