AI Finds Cancer in 11 Women Where Doctors Missed It

In a landmark development in the fight against breast cancer, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) breast screening solution, dubbed Mia, has demonstrated remarkable success in its first prospective evaluation in the UK. Developed by Kheiron Medical Technologies in collaboration with NHS Grampian, the University of Aberdeen, and Microsoft, Mia has shown the potential to revolutionize breast cancer screening, offering hope for improved outcomes for thousands of women across the UK.

The study, conducted at NHS Grampian and funded by a UK Government 'AI in Health and Care Award', evaluated Mia's performance in detecting breast cancer among 10,889 patients. The results unveiled a significant advancement: Mia aided doctors in identifying an additional 12% of breast cancers compared to routine practice. This augmented AI workflow not only led to earlier detection, particularly of high-grade cancers, but also demonstrated a promising decrease in unnecessary recalls for further assessment, potentially reducing the workload by up to 30%.

Barbara, one of the first beneficiaries of Mia's early detection capabilities, described her experience as life-changing. Mia detected her cancer at such an incipient stage that it would have eluded human detection. Barbara's testimony underscores the profound impact of AI in healthcare, offering not only hope but tangible results in saving lives.

Dr. Gerald Lip, who spearheaded the trial at NHS Grampian, emphasized Mia's potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. He highlighted Mia's ability to detect cancers under 15mm, correlating with a remarkable 95% survival rate for affected women. Additionally, Mia's integration into the screening process could expedite notification times from 14 days to just 3 days, alleviating significant stress and anxiety for patients awaiting results.

Professor Lesley Anderson, Chair in Health Data Science at the University of Aberdeen, hailed the GEMINI trial results as extraordinary, envisioning Mia's integration into breast screening programs as a means to detect more cancers without subjecting women to additional tests. However, she also acknowledged the need for ongoing collaboration with Kheiron to monitor and adjust Mia's performance, particularly in light of potential variations in mammography machines.

Peter Kecskemethy, CEO of Kheiron, expressed gratitude to the collaborative efforts of all involved parties in pioneering the development and evaluation of Mia. He emphasized Mia's outstanding results, which have surpassed expectations and laid the groundwork for its widespread deployment.

Notably, Mia operates with utmost privacy and security, as identifiable patient data is removed before mammograms are uploaded to the Azure Cloud for analysis. Presently, Mia is deployed at multiple sites across Europe, including 16 NHS sites in the UK, as part of ongoing trials.

This groundbreaking achievement underscores the UK Government's commitment to harnessing AI technology to enhance healthcare outcomes. Jacob West, Managing Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences at Microsoft UK, lauded the transformative potential of AI in healthcare, emphasizing its pivotal role in improving patient outcomes.

Mia's success represents a significant leap forward in breast cancer screening, offering hope for earlier detection, improved prognosis, and ultimately, more lives saved. As Mia continues to evolve and integrate into healthcare systems, its impact on women's health is poised to be truly transformative.