Established in 1976 in Stockholm, Sweden, Hermes Medical Solutions continuously innovates to enable faster and more personalized diagnosis and therapies with its independent nuclear medicine and molecular imaging software.
Hermes Medical Solutions was first to develop SPECT reconstruction software, first to develop dual-head whole body scanning, and first to introduce software for viewing fused images from different modalities. DART data is hosted on a Hermes server to benefit from its functionality in receiving, storing and viewing CT images.
The HERMIA state-of-the-art, vendor-neutral software suite enables imaging professionals to streamline their workflows, increase consistency and quality of clinical image review, whilst always keeping pace with the continual development of scanners, radiopharmaceuticals and imaging procedures in NM and MI.
Hermia harnesses the power of Artificial Intelligence and automation and combines it with the latest computing technology, to accelerate your workflow for all clinical scenarios in PET/SPECT/CT/MR, onsite or remotely, regardless of scanner manufacturer.
Our mission is to combine leadership in innovation for NM and MI software with customer-driven service.
Our success lies in our close and longstanding collaboration with our customers to meet their software, support and service needs.
Hermia improves the quality of patient management and decision support for thousands of healthcare providers and their patients worldwide.
Visit www.hermesmedical.com and discover how Hermia software can make a difference for your facility!
National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)
Funding high quality, timely research that benefits the NHS, public health and social care;
Investing in world-class expertise, facilities and a skilled delivery workforce to translate discoveries into improved treatments and services;
Partnering with patients, service users, carers and communities, improving the relevance, quality and impact of our research;
Attracting, training and supporting the best researchers to tackle complex health and social care challenges;
Collaborating with other public funders, charities and industry to help shape a cohesive and globally competitive research system;
Funding applied global health research and training to meet the needs of the poorest people in low and middle income countries.
NIHR is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. Its work in low and middle income countries is principally funded through UK Aid from the UK government.
Together, The Royal Marsden and the ICR are ranked in the top five cancer centres in the world for the impact of their research, treating over 59,000 NHS and private patients every year.
It is a centre of excellence with an international reputation for groundbreaking research and pioneering the very latest in cancer treatments and technologies, as well as specialising in cancer diagnosis and education.
The Royal Marsden operates from two centres, in Chelsea and Sutton, and they also have a Medical Daycare Unit at Kingston Hospital. They’re the founder and host of RM Partners, the Cancer Alliance for west London, which includes St George’s Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust, and other trust and clinical commissioning group (CCG) partners across the north-west and south-west London
HRH The Duke of Cambridge became President of The Royal Marsden in 2007, following a long royal connection with the hospital.
Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and DART
The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust is represented in this partnership by Dr Richard Lee, Consultant Respiratory Physician and Champion for Early Diagnosis at The Royal Marsden, whose role is funded by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Dr Richard Lee is the clinical lead for blood biomarker research within the DART AI programme and is also Joint National Clinical Lead for the NHS England Targeted Lung Health Checks Programme.
OCHRe
Oxford Centre for Histopathology Research (OCHRe) is an integrated service-driven facility that enables access to equipment and methodologies for research, and importantly the expertise essential for the generation and interpretation of reliable and reproducible results.
OCHRe is closely linked to the Oxford Radcliffe Biobank (ORB) and acts as a gateway for access to myriad specimen collections held in Oxford. They also work closely with the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Department of Cellular Pathology to facilitate access to diagnostic archive material both for clinical trials and for specifically approved research projects.
The ORB and OCHRe are supported by the University of Oxford, the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) Digital Pathology theme, Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Oxford Cancer Centre, National Institute for Health Research Thames Valley and South Midlands Clinical Research Network (NIHR CRN) and Research Capability Funding (NIHR RCF).
Services currently available through OCHRe:
Tissue processing, cassetting and wax embedding
Retrieval and replacement of blocks and slides
Case selection
Microtomy and cryotomy (frozen section cutting)
Staining – histochemical and immunohistochemical
Tissue microarray building, hosting and sectioning
Slide scanning
Scoring and assessment of stained tissue sections
Data provision
Processing of bloods to derivatives such as plasma, serum or buffy coat
OCHRe and DART
OCHRe has advised DART on processes and documentation.
To learn more about them please visit their website.
OCTO (Oxford Oncology Clinical Trial Office)
OCTO (Oxford Oncology Clinical Trial Office) is the oncology division of the UKCRC registered Oxford Clinical Trials Research Unit (OCTRU), providing clinical trial management support to investigators across the CRUK Oxford Centre to manage trials from concept to completion.
OCTO and DART
OCTO manage the blood sample collection of DART, known as SCOOT (Sample Collection for the Integration and Analysis of Data using Artificial Intelligence to Improve Patient Outcomes with Thoracic Diseases). OCTO is developing SCOOT, including the study set up, protocol and patient information, as well as the associated sample handling documentation for DART’s work package on the Integration of Blood Biomarkers. Once the national regulatory approvals are in place, OCTO will support the participating sites in obtaining their local regulatory approvals for the study start-up. This responsibility will be maintained for the implementation of approvals for study amendments or updates occurring throughout the period of the study.
Our OCTO SCOOT trial team (octo-scoot@oncology.ox.ac.uk) will be liaising with the study teams at each of the participating sites, from study start to closure, ensuring the protocol is appropriately implemented and maintained by providing direct support, communication and training. We will be making regular update reports to our stakeholders and collaborators on the study sites’ progress, including patient recruitment, uptake to the SCOOT sample collection study and any emerging logistical issues. Specifically, we are responsible for working with the Lung Health Checks and follow on hospitals in the planning and schedule for the sample collection procedures at the sites. We will be ensuring the secure transfer of the SCOOT patient samples from the participating sites to delegated laboratories and biobanks within academic, commercial and NHS institutions according to regulatory requirements, protocol and individual participant consent.
See and download Patient Information Sheets and Consent forms here. [links to be provided after REC approval]
OCTO, through SCOOT, is providing an important resource for completing the DART study aim of collective data integration for improved knowledge in thoracic disease diagnosis and outcomes.
Since 1990, when the charity was set up by Professor Ray Donnelly, they have funded millions of pounds of essential lung cancer research, looking for ways to detect the disease as early as possible and save lives.
For the past three decades, Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation has been the driving force behind lung cancer research, investing millions of pounds into the early detection of the disease. They do this because they know if lung cancer is caught early, curative treatment is possible.
Their ongoing commitment and innovation in this field have now paved the way for significant investment from NHS England to fund targeted lung health checks, an early intervention project designed to detect lung cancer before symptoms even appear.
It is their intention that targeted lung health checks provide further evidence to support the implementation of a national lung cancer screening programme and they’re working alongside NHSE to ensure this happens.
This is a significant step forward in the early detection of lung cancer. However, there remain thousands of people who will not benefit from the current projects, or potentially a national lung cancer screening programme – either because of their postcode, their age or the fact that they have never smoked.
Lung cancer does not discriminate. It is a disease that can affect anyone and so we need to continue to develop better screening tools for everyone.
This is exactly what the Roy Castle researchers continue to work on right now. From blood test to cheek swaps, these biomarkers are the long term future of early diagnosis in lung cancer and where our focus remains.
They support everyone affected by lung cancer – from diagnosis, through treatment, living with the disease and end of life care. They raise awareness, prevent future generations from getting it and challenge the misconceptions of lung cancer. They do all this so those diagnosed can live well with lung cancer for as long as possible.
Roy Castle and DART
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is advising DART on Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement (PPIE).
Optellum has developed the world’s first AI-based Decision Support software to enable physicians to manage lung nodule patients optimally.
For cancer patients, this means diagnosing and treating lung cancer at the earliest stage when a cure is most feasible. For patients with benign lung nodules, this means fewer rounds of unnecessary and potentially harmful testing.
To build this software, Optellum and partners gathered the largest real-world dataset of chest CT images and associated clinical data. Using Machine Learning, they have developed a solution that enables clinicians to determine which patients are more likely to have cancer more accurately than the current standard of care.
About Optellum
Optellum was founded so that every lung cancer patient is treated at the earliest possible stage, and cured. They are redefining early interception of lung disease, by enabling clinicians to manage their patients in an optimal way.
Their first product is the first Clinical Decision Support software for personalised early diagnosis & treatment of lung cancer, based on Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning applied to the world’s largest clinical dataset.
They’re a team of world-leading medical imaging software, AI, and clinical experts who met at Oxford’s world-renowned computer vision laboratory. Between them, they have track records of bringing innovation to market through over 10 start-up companies, resulting in five trade sales and one IPO.
They are backed by an Advisory Board comprising world-leading clinicians (global authors of medical guidelines) and experts in deep learning.
Optellum and DART
To learn more about Optellum please visit their website or email info@optellum.com for more information.
Roche Diagnostics Ltd. has been committed to improving lives since the company was founded in 1896 in Basel, Switzerland. Today, Roche creates innovative medicines and diagnostic tests that help millions of patients globally.
They were one of the first companies to bring targeted treatments to patients. With their combined strength in pharmaceuticals and diagnostics, they are well equipped to further drive personalised healthcare. Two-thirds of their Research and Development projects are being developed with companion diagnostics.
They are the world’s number 1 in biotech with 17 biopharmaceuticals on the market. Over half of the compounds in their product pipeline are biopharmaceuticals, enabling them to deliver better-targeted therapies.
See an article in the Clinical Services Journal by ROCHE Managing Director UK & Ireland, Geoff Twist, which references DART and quotes Prof Gleeson.
Cancer research
Roche has been at the forefront of cancer research and treatment for over 50 years, with medicines for breast, skin, colon, ovarian, lung and numerous other cancers.
They offer doctors profound information to guide treatments and to answer more patients’ questions than any other company. And their tests enable hospitals and labs to deliver that information quickly and reliably.
Roche invests around 9 billion Swiss francs in Research and Development every year because innovation is their lifeblood. This is amongst the highest Research and Development spends in the world across all industries.
They are a force of over 90,000 people working together across more than 100 countries. Roche is consistently ranked as an employer of choice by its employees and by external institutions.
For many years running, they have been recognized by the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices as the leader in sustainability within their industry.
To learn more about Roche please visit their website.
National Consortium of Intelligent Medical Imaging (NCIMI)
The National Consortium of Intelligent Medical Imaging (NCIMI) is revolutionising healthcare through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and medical imaging.
NCIMI is a partnership between NHS trusts, companies, universities, charities and patient groups coordinated by the University of Oxford.
They believe innovation takes place across sector boundaries, and have brought together partners to enable this innovation to happen with greater speed and impact.
They use de-identified patient data coupled to clinical insight, to support the development, validation and deployment of medical imaging AI to improve patient care.
They support projects at all stages along the development pipeline – including initial project scoping and pilot data collection, large data set acquisition, development for algorithm training and validation, reader studies and real-world evaluation.
“NCIMI is a launchpad to improve the healthcare industry through the use of AI and generate new insights which will benefit everyone. We collaborate to support the full pipeline of AI development – testing, training, validation and deployment. Our partners share an ethos that improvement in patient care through AI needs to be equitable, ethical and fair.”
DR Claire Bloomfield, NCIMI CEO
Funded by Innovate UK in 2019 through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund’s drive to support the UK’s AI sector, their knowledge and findings are shared through our national, cloud-connected network of hospitals supporting AI research and data sharing for innovative projects with the NHS, academia and industry.
NCIMI and DART
DART is coordinated by the NCIMI, with significant, fully-funded engagement from NHS Trusts across the country.
NCIMI provides infrastructure for data acquisition and processing, and extends existing data architecture to cover the additional data points required, as well as providing overall programme support, integrating it into NCIMI and allowing access to ethics, PPIE and governance frameworks already in place.
Cancer Research UK
DART leverages support from the Cancer Research UK Oxford Centre through support for PhD studentships which will support research within the programme and the newly established Oxford Centre for Early Cancer Detection. See the CRUK summary of DART here.
Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading independent charity dedicated to cancer research. They carry out scientific research to help prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. They have discovered new ways to beat cancer that have saved hundreds of thousands of lives across the world.
More than one in three of us will get cancer at some point in our lives. Cancer Research UK’s groundbreaking work, funded almost entirely by the general public, will ensure that millions more people survive.
Cancer Research UK want survival in the UK to be among the best in the world. They’re focusing their efforts in four key areas – working to help prevent cancer, diagnose it earlier, develop new treatments and optimise current treatments by personalising them and making them even more effective.
They will continue to support research into all types of cancer and across all age groups. They’re keeping their focus on understanding the biology of cancer so they can use this vital knowledge to save more lives.
Cancer Research UK is increasing their research in key areas such as early diagnosis, and hard-to-treat cancers including lung, pancreatic, oesophageal cancers and brain tumours.
They are developing new tests, surgery and radiotherapy techniques, and cancer drugs. They want to personalise prevention, screening and treatment and bring benefits to patients sooner.
To help accelerate progress, they will be investing an additional £50 million a year into new funding schemes for their researchers. These will encourage collaboration and innovation and support research tackling some of the biggest scientific challenges in cancer research.
They will also campaign for the best cancer services in all parts of the UK, and give more people the chance to join the fight against cancer.
Registered charity No. 1089464.
Cancer Research UK and DART
Cancer Research UK has partnered with DART to investigate the role that AI can play in medical imaging. See the CRUK DART page for a Plain English summary of the project.
To learn more about them please visit their website.
