Since the development of computer-aided diagnostic systems in the late 90s, public demand for medical imaging has continued to rise, ranging from well-known imaging techniques like CT and MRI scans, right through to more complex processes, such as angiography. As these technologies, which serve both a diagnostic purpose and have an increasing role anticipating potential future health challenges for individuals before they become acute, evolve, we are also seeing innovation around how such services are accessed, and why.
Today, the narrative attached to the phrase ‘diagnostic imaging’ tends to bemoan the ever-growing challenge of keeping pace with the mounting pressure on public health systems. It goes without saying that this trend was exacerbated by the pandemic: according to an analysis by the Society of Radiographers, while October 2024 was a record-breaking month in which more than two million NHS diagnostic imaging tests were carried out for the first time, in the very same month, the number of patients waiting for these tests simultaneously rose to 1.11 million, above the target of one million.
“October 2024 was a record-breaking month in which more than two million NHS diagnostic imaging tests were carried out for the first time.”
Without downplaying the complex challenges facing providers across the healthcare space, at MBS, we believe there’s a second theme to draw out: namely, the quiet buzz of positive initiatives and technological advances across the diagnostics space. In this weekend’s column, we plan to highlight a handful of the strategic collaborations and innovative technology being wielded from behind the scenes. While the leadership of every provider is unique in their approach to the challenges outlined above, a promising number are united by a shared desire to improve population health, through earlier diagnosis or identification of potential future health concerns, for generations to come.
The partnership between the NHS and InHealth, which is behind the Lung Cancer Screening programme, is an excellent example of a life-saving initiative that is already delivering impressive results. For context, lung cancer is globally acknowledged to be the leading cause of cancer deaths, largely because the early symptoms are often misattributed. As reported in a recent publication by the European Society for Medical Oncology, over half of patients with lung cancer are therefore diagnosed at a stage when treatment is not possible. The statistics are truly sobering: according to Cancer Research UK’s analysis of lung cancer deaths in England, only 45% of people who have been diagnosed with lung cancer survive their cancer for one year or more.
To tackle this trend, the Lung Cancer Screening programme aims to facilitate earlier diagnoses by bringing radiologist teams closer to at–risk communities. The programme invites smokers (and former smokers) aged between 55 and 77 to undergo a free lung health check, consisting of a 40-second scan inside a state-of-the-art mobile CT unit. Located in community hubs like supermarkets and sports venues, the service is available seven days per week to encourage uptake among the target demographic. This has rolled out across 17 NHS Trusts since its launch in 2022, and this has led to InHealth being placed in the ‘Best Healthcare Provider Partnership’ category in the HSJ Partnership Awards in 2024.
While successful collaboration with the NHS can allow providers to deliver diagnostic services across the UK in a short time frame, the recent market entry by Ezra, the Texas-based healthtech scale-up, illustrates how strategic partnerships in the independent sector can allow technological advances aimed at individual customers to gain a foothold in new markets. Founded by Emi Gal in 2018, Ezra offers AI-powered, full-body MRI scans designed to screen up to 13 organs for more than 500 conditions in a 30-minute appointment, giving customers “the world’s most comprehensive look inside your body” (as they describe it). Ezra announced it’s partnership with Alliance Medical in the UK last month, marking a major market expansion beyond its core US base, which has grown to 100 locations across 24 states. While Ezra’s innovative service is currently only available to UK residents at Alliance Medical’s Marylebone clinic, its launch may be further boosted by Function Health’s strategic acquisition of Ezra earlier this month.
“It will be fascinating to assess the extent to which they are adopted by individual consumers through the self-pay channel or incorporated into corporate health and wellbeing packages.”
Ezra is not the only international diagnostics provider to enter the UK market within the last year, fuelled by technological innovation, and talking directly to potential customers. Founded by Daniel Ek (the Chief Executive and co-founder of Spotify) and Hjalmar Nilsonne in 2023, Stockholm-based Neko Health encapsulates the current vogue for preventative health. In addition to its three sites in Sweden, Neko has now unveiled two centres in London: the first opened its doors in Marylebone in September 2024, and was quickly followed by the unveiling of Neko’s largest-ever site in Spitalfields last month. Together, these sites have the capacity to carry out full-body scans to detect early signs of illness for up to 30,000 people per year. In a few years’ time, when this kind of advanced diagnostic service is more formally embedded in the market, it will be fascinating to assess the extent to which they are adopted by individual consumers through the self-pay channel or incorporated into corporate health and wellbeing packages. Last summer, we looked into the growing role of employers as healthcare providers, and perhaps there is scope here for services like this to be harnessed in that area too.
Without downplaying the extensive and complex challenges that leadership teams across the UK health system are grappling with every day, it’s important to acknowledge the ongoing efforts to reshape – and ultimately transform – the role that diagnostic imaging providers play within the health system. While many of these ‘green shoots’ are yet to be measured over a prolonged period of time, The MBS Group’s quiet sense of optimism about the long-term impact of these efforts is perfectly summarised by the aim of the upcoming annual UK Imaging & Oncology Congress (UKIO): “to encourage [the] imaging and oncology community to think about … the importance of joined-up thinking that considers the impact of individual actions on the global village”.
UKIO 2025 will take place at the ACC Liverpool on 2-4 June with the theme Community & Consciousness: One Health
