Healthtech Entrepreneurs Collaborate to Expand NHS AI Access
Hexarad and Newton’s Tree have signed a strategic partnership to transform how NHS hospitals access AI technology.
Two of the UK’s leading health technology companies, radiology technology company Hexarad and enterprise-wide AI platform Newton’s Tree, have confirmed a first-of-its-kind strategic collaboration to transform how NHS radiology departments access technology, including AI tools. NHS radiology services are under unprecedented strain, with diagnostic waiting lists reported at an all-time high in July 2024.
The partnership will combine Hexarad’s tech-enabled teleradiology and proprietary software platform with Newton’s Tree’s vendor-neutral AI platform to reduce NHS radiology departments’ reliance on outdated manual processes, and enable them to trial, adopt, and evaluate AI tools more easily.
Hexarad’s teleradiology and workflow management software platforms are already used in NHS hospitals across the UK, and the integrated platform will help radiology departments manage and reduce reporting backlogs, ensuring faster diagnosis and treatment for patients.
Both Hexarad and Newton’s Tree are founded and run by teams who can draw on deep NHS experience and a shared understanding of the challenges faced by NHS clinicians.
Hexarad CEO Dr Farzana Rahman said: “We want to provide radiology departments with a comprehensive solution that addresses the most important problems they face.
“Our partnership with Newton’s Tree will mean that through one integration, hospitals will have access to teleradiology, workflow software and a suite of AI tools.
“We know that NHS staff are stretched and having to scour the market for multiple different solutions isn’t practical. We want to give radiology departments more power to future proof themselves with state-of-the-art tools and technologies that are adaptable to future advancements.
“The clinical benefits of these technologies are potentially huge, but the combined Hexarad Newton’s Tree platform will give clinicians the power to safely use and evaluate them for themselves and really see what works best. We are excited to be working with the fantastic Newton’s Tree team to bring this unique new approach to the NHS.”
Haris Shuaib, Newton’s Tree CEO and NHS Consultant Clinical Scientist at Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, also commented: “We are delighted to partner with Hexarad, whose deep radiology expertise and trusted presence in NHS hospitals make them an ideal partner.
“By integrating our platform with Hexarad’s teleradiology and workflow management systems, we want to make it easier for NHS Trusts to comprehensively evaluate and confidently adopt AI tools. This collaboration is an exciting opportunity to empower clinicians and accelerate AI adoption.”
The platform unlocks efficiencies for NHS staff
The Newton’s Tree platform acts as the AI interoperability layer in a hospital, enabling hospitals to download AI applications with all the contracting and deployment built in.
This allows clinical staff to evaluate and implement AI tools more quickly and easily, whilst ensuring that they are safe and effective and without adding to the hospital IT admin burden.
When combined with Hexarad’s workflow management platform, clinicians will have access to a monitoring dashboard to track the efficiency or cost-saving effects AI tools are having on their radiology department.
Hexarad’s cloud-based technology platform eliminates unnecessary radiology delays by not only providing teleradiology, but also through their software tool, OptiRad, which optimises how a radiology department works.
This currently includes forecasting capacity, delivering performance analytics, and performing key administration tasks that would otherwise have to be done by a radiologist.
This can include tasks like processing and allocating thousands of scans in minutes, cutting down the time it takes to allocate a scan to a radiologist by approximately 90%.
