Lung Health Check Centres

Using data gathered by the lung health checks, DART is developing AI algorithms to improve the diagnosis of lung disease.

The Targeted Lung Health Checks (TLHC) programme is a flagship programme of work in England contributing to the ambition of the NHS Long Term Plan to improve early diagnosis and survival for those diagnosed with cancer.

To view a video from the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation explaining about the Lung Health Checks, scroll down this page to the video entitled “IS LUNG CANCER SCREENING RIGHT FOR ME?” or watch it on YouTube here.

Lung cancer is frequently diagnosed at a later stage than other cancers, due to there often being no signs at an early stage. The Targeted Lung Health Check Programme (TLHC) offers lung health checks to participants aged 55 to 74 who are current or former smokers. The programme aims to improve earlier diagnosis of lung cancer, at a stage when it is much more treatable – ultimately saving more lives. See more information at https://roycastle.org/campaigns/targeted-lung-health-checks/

Following the initial lung health check, those assessed as high risk are offered a low dose CT scan. The programme currently has 17 TLHC projects, established across 23 CCGs, with some of the highest rates of mortality from lung cancer. It is estimated that the initial 17 TLHC projects will diagnose ~6,000 cancers earlier than would otherwise have been.

DART is developing AI algorithms to improve the diagnosis of lung disease. Currently, there are no commercially available tools that are proven to improve patient care, survival and be cost-effective compared to the existing screening guidelines. There is therefore a significant opportunity to integrate novel diagnostics into the screening programme to acquire and analyse the data needed to develop and validate new technologies, to transform care pathways in lung cancer and associated co-morbidities, and to deliver patient and economic benefit for the UK.

DART is working with the TLHC projects listed below and will use data generated by these projects for its research.

FAQs for sites considering joining DART can be found here.

The following Targeted Lung Health Check projects are supplying data, images and pathology slides for digitisation to DART and blood samples to our companion project, SCOOT: