COMMENT: Technology harnessed to help cancer patients

We've all had cause to feel mightily frustrated at computers when they don't do what we want them to do.

But there's no doubt that artificial intelligence and analytics can also be massively beneficial to society.

Today we report how experts from the University of Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust have used the power of technology to create an innovative system to help patients with bowel cancer.

A study used data taken from a database of more than 4,000 patients who underwent surgery between 2003 and 2019.

The new algorithm can now estimate how long somebody might spend in hospital, including the chances of them being readmitted after surgery, thus potentially saving the NHS millions of pounds.

But as well as financial, it also has a very human benefit. That's because it can predict long-term prognoses and also give short-term survival chances.

This intelligent modelling means that healthcare providers will be able to design the best patient care.

It will have a big effect because bowel cancer is now one of the most common types of cancer diagnosed in this country.

The new algorithm developed here in Portsmouth could prove invaluable by giving patients information about their condition and an insight into what they’re likely to experience in the future.

They can not only be given a good indication of what the long term holds, allowing them to prepare, but what to expect before then.

We congratulate the team behind this important advance and look forward to it being approved for rollout across the country.