NHS radiologists are to get AI help spotting prostate cancer on MRI scans as five tools face a two-year trial

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has issued new draft guidance approving five AI tools for a two-year trial, while rejecting two others for lack of sufficient evidence. The approved tools will highlight suspicious regions on scans to indicate possible cancer. NICE expects the technology to cut the rate of unnecessary biopsies. Radiology departments, already short-staffed, are under increasing strain from rising demand for pre-biopsy MRI scans.

NICE's Dr Anastasia Chalkidou said the software could act 'like a second pair of eyes'.

The NHS cancer director, Professor Peter Johnson, insists a radiologist will still review every scan.

Around 68,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year.