Advancements in AI: Recent Developments in Welsh Life Sciences

Innovation in Wales 

The NHS workforce is facing considerable pressure, particularly in diagnostics, where extra support is essential moving forward. Through my experience in developing and evaluating various models, I've witnessed the profound impact AI can have. I'm keen to support initiatives that accelerate the adoption of AI-enabled technologies to benefit our clinical teams, patients, and the public. 

Where does Wales stand with AI? 

Across Wales, we've made significant progress towards fostering a sustainable, ethical, and innovative environment: 

• AI and Data Science Research: Welsh universities and NHS organisations are deeply involved in AI and data science research. These collaborations aim to position Wales as an international leader in AI, with projects that have tangible real-world impacts.
• Ethical AI Use: We place a strong emphasis on the ethical and responsible use of AI. The AI Commission is dedicated to raising awareness, ensuring responsible implementation of AI technologies, and prioritising patient and public safety.
• Government Investment: The Welsh Government is investing in AI and digital strategies to drive innovation. This includes funding projects that explore new AI applications and support the development of infrastructure across Wales. 

Recent developments 

This progress has spurred some innovative advancements in AI across the life sciences sector in Wales. Some of the recent developments include: 

Investments in AI-powered clinical documentation 

Clinithink is a Bridgend-based AI technology firm specialising in healthcare. Their flagship product, CLiX®, uses Clinical Natural Language Processing to extract valuable data from unstructured patient notes. It can process up to two million clinical documents an hour, providing insights that would take much longer to gather manually. This helps improve patient care, reduce clinician workloads, and potentially generate significant savings for the NHS. 

The Development Bank of Wales has been a significant supporter since 2012, making several investments, totalling over £5 million. This has been crucial in helping Clinithink grow and expand its market presence, particularly in the US. The technology is now used by major healthcare organizations, including AstraZeneca. 

AI-optimised discharge management 

Faculty AI’s discharge management solution, known as Frontier, is designed to optimise patient discharge processes in hospitals. This solution has been implemented as a pilot at Hywel Dda University Health Board in Wales. 

A common challenge in hospitals is when patients who are medically fit to leave remain in hospital due to discharge delays. Frontier attempts to address this by providing an AI-generated estimated date of discharge (EDD) for patients upon admission. This helps healthcare teams plan proactively for patient discharge, reducing delays and improving patient flow. The solution can be integrated into daily workflows, so healthcare teams can use the insights without disrupting their routine. 

The collaboration highlights the potential for AI to support discharge management in healthcare organisations across Wales and beyond, allowing hospitals to improve patient care, reduce waiting times, and optimise their use of resources. 

Cutting-edge research on cancer using AI 

The Interdisciplinary Precision Oncology Cardiff Hub (IPOCH) at Cardiff University is a cutting-edge initiative that integrates AI and big data approaches to advance cancer research and treatment. 

IPOCH focuses on combining image and genomic data analytics with AI, to develop better analytical models for individualising treatment plans. This involves using biomarkers from imaging, radiomics, and spatial genomics to tailor treatments to the unique biology of each patient's cancer. 

The hub addresses several major precision medicine challenges, including by: 

• Using AI to analyse patient biopsies with novel tissue labelling biomarkers to grade cancer progression.
• Creating digital representations of patients to study disease progression and drug responses.
• Using deep learning to analyse MRI data for non-invasive brain cancer tissue characterization. 

Transforming stroke care with AI 

Brainomix 360 Stroke is an AI technology being nationally deployed across Wales to transform stroke care. 

The technology uses AI algorithms to provide real-time interpretation of brain scans. It combines an automatically generated Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) from non-contrast CT images, with a heatmap overlay. This helps clinicians assess scans and make faster clinical decisions. 

Wales is first in the UK to commission Brainomix 360 on a national basis. This comprehensive deployment aims to ensure stroke patients across the country receive timely and effective care, regardless of their location. 

Using AI to improve prostate cancer diagnosis 

The Tritech Institute has worked with Jiva.Ai to develop an AI-based solution to improve prostate cancer diagnosis using MRI imaging. Their system, trained on thousands of MRI scans, aims to address the subjectivity in current diagnostic methods. So far, the AI model has achieved 77% sensitivity, 65% specificity and 69% accuracy in detecting prostate cancer in a real-world setting. 

The JivaRDX platform, a class IIa medical device pending MHRA approval, integrates seamlessly into radiology workflows. It automatically annotates imaging files, requiring minimal intervention and training. This platform has been evaluated over 18 months across multiple hospital sites within Hywel Dda University Health Board, demonstrating its potential to support future clinical decision-making and reduce diagnostic time. 

Looking to the future 

These real-life examples illustrate how AI is already enhancing diagnostic accuracy, streamlining administrative tasks, and improving patient care through predictive analytics and personalised treatment plans. As adoption grows, this has the potential to reduce waiting times and improve overall healthcare efficiency. As well as this, AI’s potential to bring wider benefits that are sorely needed by the healthcare system are clear.  Outside of health, AI can play a crucial role in optimising energy use, reducing waste, and supporting environmental monitoring and conservation efforts. 

Continued investment in AI research and innovation will position Wales as a leader, attracting talent and investment, and fostering a vibrant life sciences ecosystem. While it also presents challenges that need to be managed carefully, it’s incumbent on us to continue to harness the potential for AI to improve outcomes in our healthcare system for the benefit of clinical teams and patients alike. 

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