Lucida Medical’s technology, presented at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in March 2021, helps to automate labor-intensive tasks such as marking out lesions, and avoid unnecessary invasive biopsies, with unprecedented accuracy and consistency. The funding will be used to extend the team, achieve regulatory approvals for the company’s technology, and complete a 2000-patient clinical study.

Co-founders Prof Evis Sala and Dr Antony Rix have developed the software using radiogenomics, machine learning and image processing to analyze magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. MRI is now the preferred technique to assess a range of cancers, including prostate and metastatic disease. However, the current process of radiologists interpreting oncological MRI requires specialist training and is labor-intensive, creating a growing skills challenge: the shortfall in the UK radiologist workforce is forecast to reach 43% by 2024. Prostate cancer diagnosis using MRI represents a major step forward compared to earlier methods, but remains error-prone. The ground-breaking PROMIS study (Lancet 2017; 389: 815–22) indicated that radiologists can miss 12% of significant cancers on MRI, and lead to 55% of individuals without significant cancer receiving a painful and costly biopsy. The study presented at ECR 2021 suggests that Lucida Medical’s AI technology could help cut missed cancers to 7% and unnecessary biopsies to 24%, as well as making the process faster.

Access to accurate diagnosis is a particular issue outside of leading institutions, especially for specific groups known to be at higher risk, for example men of West African genetic heritage. Lucida aims to screen up to 54 million men for prostate cancer each year using its technology, to offer the benefits of early detection and personalized care to everyone.

Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer Prof Evis Sala, Professor of Oncological Imaging at the University of Cambridge, said “we are tremendously excited about the potential of this system to enhance our ability to detect cancer accurately and early. We are now looking forward to working with hospitals and radiology and urology partners to prove the technology and bring it into clinical use. Covid-19 has created a serious backlog in cancer screening and Lucida Medical is well placed to help us clear this and improve the care that we offer further over the coming years.”

Ekaterina Holt, Head of XTX Ventures, added “We are delighted to lead the investment round for Lucida Medical, which is targeting to save lives from cancer with their best-in-class, non-invasive machine vision technology. We are excited to have so many clinical experts involved in supporting the company, from Prof Evis Sala as the Co-Founder to over 15 leading radiologists and urologists, and Prostate Cancer Research.”

Dr Terry Parlett, Commercialization Director, Cambridge Enterprise

“Cambridge Enterprise has been proud to support the Lucida Medical team on its route to launch and the development of its technology, which harnesses both University and health system expertise. We hope it will benefit radiologists, clinicians and, most importantly, patients, through its early and accurate detection of cancers. We wish Lucida Medical success and look forward to watching the company go from strength to strength.”

Prof Grant Stewart, Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Cambridge

“There is an urgent need to improve the early detection, diagnosis and management of cancer. Imaging now plays an essential role, but could have much wider benefit if AI can reduce its costs and enhance the speed and accuracy of assessments. We welcome the development of this technology and look forward to seeing its impact in the clinic.”