AI can save lives by improving cancer treatments in Cambridgeshire
The programme is already being used in Addenbrooke's hospital
Artificial intelligence (AI) could be used to treat more cancers after a hospital study found it was freeing up radiologists' times.
'Osairis' was created by a team led by Dr Raj Jena, an oncologist at Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
It was provided with a £500,000 grant from NHS AI Lab.
The program is currently being used in the head and neck cancers and prostrate cancer departments of Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge.
The technology works by cutting the amount of time a doctor needs to spend drawing around healthy organs, a vital step in radiotherapy treatment to ensure healthy tissue is protected.
Dr Jena has been working on a long-term collaboration with Microsoft Research, known as Project InnerEye, which is developing machine learning techniques to support medical imaging.
"Help us reduce waiting times for cancer patients, free up time for staff so they can focus on patient care, and ultimately save lives"
The team used open-source software from Project InnerEye on Osairis, along with data from patients who had previously been treated in the hospital and agreed to contribute to the research.
Dr Jena said: "Osairis does much of the work in the background so that when the doctor sits down to start planning treatment, most of the heavy lifting is done.
"It is the first cloud-based AI technology to be developed and deployed within the NHS.
"Having carried out 18 months of rigorous testing, we are now able to share this technology safely across the NHS for patient benefit."
Health and Social Care Secretary, and MP for North East Cambridge, Steve Barclay added: "Cutting-edge technology can help us reduce waiting times for cancer patients, free up time for staff so they can focus on patient care, and ultimately save lives - and artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly important role."