AI technology used in a pilot project in Leicester could enable considerable benefits for Dermatology services, trust staff and the wider health system.

We recently awarded funding to University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, to review a pilot project using Skin Analytics AI-Powered Teledermatology.

The project in Leicester’s acute hospitals used the Skin Analytics AI solution to provide an opinion on whether patients presenting in the community with skin lesions need to be seen by a consultant for further investigation into whether the lesion is cancerous.

The project aimed to reduce unnecessary attendance within the acute hospitals and help to reduce waiting lists. Patients were referred to a community based clinical hub in one of four pilot sites. Healthcare professionals captured images of the skin lesion which was instantaneously reviewed by the Skin Analytics solution called DERM. Patients who received a diagnosis of concern were referred onwards to a Dermatology Consultant. Lesions identified as benign were reviewed by a Skin Analytics dermatologist to either validate the discharge decision or refer for additional assessment.

The evaluation confirmed that the solution led to a reduction in two week wait referrals, freeing up 1450 outpatient appointments during the pilot. These appointments were made available to non-cancer patients. There was also a clinical time saving of 263 minutes per 100 patients

Michael Ellis, Senior Innovation Lead at Health Innovation East Midlands said: “The technology was being used in the Skin Cancer Two-week Pathway as part of a pilot to improve patient access to dermatology diagnostics and achieve the two-week-wait cancer targets. The evaluation found that although some challenges remain with implementation and staff acceptability of the current model of delivery, there is the potential for this novel pathway to be cost-effective in the long-term and enable considerable benefits.”

The study proposed several recommendations to enhance the programme's benefits and ensure that longer-term cost-effectiveness is achieved.

Find out more

If you would like support to evaluate a real world test of a digital or technological solution, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.