DHSC calls for proposals on AI in health and care

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has opened up the second round of applications for funding under the AI in Health and Care Award programme. It said that technology companies, researchers and developers are able to bid for support in developing and testing AI and machine learning products for use in the NHS. The department indicated that it is particularly interested in applications dealing with triage, screening, imaging and intelligent operational automation. This follows the first round of awards in September, under which 42 projects won shares of £50 million from the overall budget of £140 million. First round winners set to be tested in the NHS include a phone app that could help detect early kidney disease in urine samples of diabetic patients, an algorithm that could remove the need for the second human reader to assess breast cancer screening scans, and a computer software platform that uses AI to help detect early lung cancer.