Optellum’s Virtual Nodule Clinic Included in the Latest NHS AI Roadmap Report

Optellum, an Oxford-based lung health technology company has been named as one of two case studies within the NHS Health Education England (HEE) AI Roadmap report. The priorities for HEE when choosing the case studies were to ensure that the solutions had been used or tested in the NHS and that different clinical pathways, workforce groups and points of care were represented. 

Optellum is supported by partnerships with the NHS and funding from Innovate UK and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

At the time of this announcement, Jason Pesterfield, President, CEO and Director at Optellum, said:

“Inclusion of Optellum within this report reinforces the hard work and close relationships we have built within the NHS. Very early-stage lung cancer can be difficult to diagnose as it shows up on scans as small pulmonary nodules, making them tricky to classify and confirm whether they are benign or requiring treatment. Use of the Virtual Nodule Clinic is shown to improve diagnostic accuracy, clinical decision-making and consistency among physicians. To have been included in this report is a significant milestone for Optellum and recognition that we are helping to spearhead the use of AI technology within the NHS to better the system and improve patient outcomes.”  

Optellum’s Virtual Nodule Clinic Is an AI-Powered Clinical Decision Support Software

In September 2021, the UK government set out a National AI Strategy which builds on the UK’s strengths but also represents the start of a step-change for the use of AI in the UK. It recognizes the power of AI to increase resilience, productivity, growth and innovation across the private and public sectors, including in healthcare. 

 The AI Roadmap report, commissioned by HEE reviews the preparedness of the NHS for the implementation of new AI technologies and the impact these technologies will have on the workforce, the patient pathway and wider system performance. The report and its accompanying dashboard will allow the NHS to understand existing technologies, the groups that they sit within, their spread and adoption and ultimately the potential impact of these technologies across the workforce.  

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 Across the UK, lung cancer has the highest mortality rate of all cancers, with over 35,000 people year on year passing away from the disease.  Earlier diagnosis of lung cancer has become a key focus for the NHS, with the ambition of diagnosing three in four cancers at stage 1 or 2. Currently, late-stage diagnosis of the disease is most common, with GPs often missing early warning signs despite repeated visits from patients. Report findings highlighted learnings from the deployment of AI in the NHS Lung Cancer Screening Programme – with early-stage piloting and trials currently in place across several NHS Trusts – and potential impact on earlier diagnosis rates at a stage where treatment is more likely to be successful.    

Optellum’s Virtual Nodule Clinic is an AI-powered clinical decision support software, which gives clinicians support in identifying and tracking at-risk patients who present suspicious lung nodules which may or may not be cancerous. It integrates a clinically-validated Lung Cancer Prediction (LCP) score based on imaging AI and has the potential to improve clinical care coordination and decisions, with the aim to get patients treated before the disease has metastasized – crucially increasing lung cancer survival rates. 

Optellum is extending its reach in the US market, and in March 2021 received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Virtual Nodule Clinic, the first of its kind to be cleared. Since then, Optellum has strategically partnered with GE Healthcare and the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson. The Virtual Nodule Clinic has been implemented in Vanderbilt University Medical Centre and University of Mississippi Medical Centre (UMMC), with more sites currently in pre-implementation stage. Optellum are also currently seeking CE marking to support further roll out of the Virtual Nodule Clinic within NHS Trusts.  

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