Lunit Announces Prospective AI Research Plan with UK Leeds Teaching Hospitals

5500 Patients Visiting Breast Clinic
"World's First Prospective Study"

Medical AI company Lunit announced on the 18th that it will present its plan to conduct the world's first 'Prospective Study' targeting patients visiting breast clinics at the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI 2023), held in Valencia, Spain, from the 28th to the 30th.

Lunit's AI imaging analysis solution for mammography, 'Lunit Insight MMG'.
[Photo by Lunit]

Previously, Lunit was selected for the 2nd phase of the 2023 Health and Medical Technology R&D Project, announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and implemented by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute. Through this, Lunit plans to begin full-scale research in collaboration with the University of Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the largest public healthcare institution under the UK National Health Service (NHS).

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals have already conducted a retrospective study based on Lunit AI in the breast clinic environment, yielding positive results. Building on this, the world's first prospective study in a clinical setting will be conducted.

Lunit emphasized that the most significant feature of this study is that it is a prospective study targeting patients visiting breast clinics, rather than a general breast screening environment. Patients visiting clinics often do so because they experience specific symptoms in their breasts, making them a group with a higher likelihood of breast disease diagnosis compared to general screening patients.

Moreover, while most previous studies analyzed data from patients already diagnosed with breast cancer in retrospective studies, this study will apply Lunit Insight MMG in clinical settings and prospectively verify the actual clinical effectiveness of AI through real-time patient analysis.

The research team plans to complete the study by the end of 2025, targeting 5,500 patients visiting the breast clinic at Leeds Teaching Hospitals. Half of these, 2,750 patients, will undergo double reading by two specialists according to European breast cancer reading regulations. The other half will be read by two specialists using Lunit AI solutions, and the results will be compared and analyzed.

The company explained that this study is expected to have a positive ripple effect on the utilization of AI in medical settings. Lunit anticipates that early diagnosis through AI will reduce unnecessary medical costs while improving reading efficiency, thereby contributing to alleviating the shortage of specialists.

Dr. Nisha Sharma, a breast imaging specialist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals and the lead researcher, said, "This study will be an important opportunity to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis using AI," adding, "We hope the research will be successfully conducted by combining the rich clinical experience of Leeds Teaching Hospitals with Lunit's technological capabilities."

Seobum Seok, CEO of Lunit, stated, "This study is differentiated from others as it is the first prospective study targeting breast clinic visitors, who are a high-risk group," and added, "We will establish more diverse medical evidence so that AI solutions can become the new standard for breast cancer screening."

Meanwhile, Lunit will hold a symposium on this study at the European Society of Breast Imaging. At the symposium, Dr. Sharma plans to present on the topic of 'AI Application in Clinics and Prospective Clinical Implementation Plans.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.