Charity funded AI tool supports our radiotherapy department
Charity funded AI tool supports our radiotherapy department
10 October 2025
Patients receiving radiotherapy need to have a CT scan to map the location, shape and size of any tumours and the surrounding organs.
After this, Consultant Oncologists and specialised staff (called dosimetrists) complete a process called ‘contouring,’ where they draw outlines around the tumour and surrounding organs on the CT scans to allow the treatment to be personalised and precisely targeted.
In the past, this process has been time-consuming, as lines are manually drawn around the organ in every image from the scan to capture the organ’s three-dimensional shape.
The new AI software automatically generates an outline around every organ, saving time for NHS staff and reducing the time required to prepare each patient’s treatment plan.
“It’s been very positive for our department. It’s the first thing we’ve done with AI, so it’s got us into that world.”
Dr Josh Mason, Principal Radiotherapy Physicist
Dr Josh Mason, Principal Radiotherapy Physicist, led the project, implementing the AI tool in the Radiotherapy Department. He said: “Several thousand patients have now received treatment using this tool. Doctors’ time is very pressured, and probably one of the biggest sources of delays to patients starting treatment is this contouring step.
“It’s been very positive for our department. It’s the first thing we’ve done with AI, so it’s got us into that world.”
Sarah Robinson, a Macmillan Senior Dosimetrist who regularly uses the AI software, said:
“It’s made a massive difference in time saving for us. For every patient we plan, we have to outline all the organs the radiation dose is going to, so we know how much dose is going to each organ.
“Manual contouring takes a lot of time per patient, and if you’re doing two or three patients a day, you save a lot of time using the AI.
“For auto contouring, we send it off to the AI software, then go through every slide and check it, making adjustments if we think it’s not right, but editing only takes between five and ten minutes.
“Overall, we love it. It’s very accurate most of the time, and we’re still using our expertise to amend things if they aren’t quite right. So every patient’s still being reviewed by someone who’s trained to do it.”
The project has been presented at three conferences and a lecture, with an abstract also accepted for the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) Congress 2024.
The team were also finalists for the Driving Change through AI and Automation Award at the 2025 HSJ Digital Awards.
This project was made possible thanks to our Innovate at Imperial grant programme, which provides grants for innovative projects across our hospitals that improve processes, care and health outcomes.
If you're a member of staff and want to learn more about how a grant could support your department, visit our NHS staff area.
