WIREDGOV

A new network of scanners will drive drug discovery and diagnose patients with illnesses like cancer, Alzheimer’s and heart conditions earlier and faster.

The network’s first scanner to become operational was officially unveiled at St Thomas’ Hospital by Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, and Health Secretary, Wes Streeting. Another machine will be installed in Scotland in the coming months.

These next-generation scanners are more sensitive and faster than existing machines. They will also feed UK-wide data into the new National PET Imaging Platform (NPIP) to improve diagnosis and aid researchers’ understanding of diseases to support the development of new medicines.

Pioneering research

Positron emission tomography (PET) scanning is a non-invasive imaging technique that can detect diseases earlier, saving lives.

These whole-body scanners will scan the whole body without the need for a patient to be repositioned multiple times, which means more people, including children, can benefit.

They will also give the UK’s pioneering researchers unprecedented access to cutting-edge technology and the data it generates, which will explode the scope of research into multi-organ, complex diseases.

It will also help to develop medicines and diagnostics more effectively and bring them to market quicker.

Expanding to additional sites

NPIP plans to expand to additional sites in the future and has already welcomed the Royal Free Hospital in London as a collaborative partner, which contributes towards the connection of insights from clinical use.

The platform is funded by a £32 million investment from UK Research and Innovation’s (UKRI) Infrastructure Fund and operated by the UK’s Medicines Discovery Catapult, in partnership with the Medical Research Council (MRC) and Innovate UK.

Unlocking the next medical breakthroughs

Science and Technology Secretary, Peter Kyle, said:

Cutting-edge scanners like these and the intelligence they provide can help UK patients live longer, healthier lives while easing the pressure on our NHS.

Ultimately, these kinds of medical advancements will quite literally save lives – through earlier detection, faster diagnoses and more effective treatment in complex illnesses like cancer, dementia and heart disease.

Ensuring our world-leading researchers have access to the most advanced technology is key to them unlocking the next medical breakthroughs, in turn improving the lives of people across the UK and beyond, while also growing our economy.

The scanners have the potential to scan up to 50% more patients each day and can reveal subtle, early signs of multiple types of cancer as well as neurological, cardiovascular and musculoskeletal conditions.

Making the discoveries that improve lives

Ottoline Leyser, Chief Executive of UKRI, which has invested £32 million in the scanner and research platform, said:

Our infrastructure fund invests in the facilities and equipment essential for researchers and innovators across the UK to make the discoveries that improve lives and livelihoods for everyone. The national PET Imaging Platform is a great example.

A network of total-body PET scanners across the UK will radically improve the speed, comfort, and accuracy of scanning for patients, helping to reduce waiting times.

Additionally, by involving patients in clinical research projects, and combining the data from across the UK, we will gain invaluable insight into many life-limiting illnesses, including cancer and Alzheimer’s and support the development of novel therapeutics.

Enabling new collaborations

Professor Chris Molloy, CEO of Medicines Discovery Catapult, said:

We are delighted to see this new scanner operational so that more patients, researchers and industry partners can benefit from this cutting-edge technology. As a new asset in our game-changing National Platform, it will provide vital insights into disease biology, improving its detection, diagnosis and future treatment.

By providing even more insightful data, NPIP enables new collaborations across the clinical and industrial research communities who, together with Medicines Discovery Catapult, reshape drug discovery and development for patient benefit.

NPIP continues a long history of world leading UKRI investments in PET technologies and wider medical imaging, from the world’s first hospital based radiopharmaceutical facility funded by MRC in the 1950s.

About the UKRI Infrastructure Fund

The UKRI Infrastructure Fund supports the facilities, equipment and resources that are essential for researchers and innovators to do ground-breaking work.

This includes a range of other new investments relevant to medicine, including UK Biobank, next generation MRI scanners and mass spectrometry, as well as population studies of adolescence and children in early life.

This strategic fund helps to create a long-term pipeline of research and innovation infrastructure investment priorities for the next 10 to 20 years.

It supports a range of projects from new infrastructure to major upgrades, delivering a step change in capability and capacity.

The Infrastructure Fund spans the complete disciplinary spectrum and funds infrastructure located across all the UK’s regions and nations, and those that form part of major international collaborations.