Patients facing suspected lung cancer could get answers sooner under a new NHS pilot using artificial intelligence and robotic technology to help doctors reach hard-to-detect cancers earlier, with fewer invasive tests. 

The new approach uses AI software to rapidly analyse lung scans and flag small lumps that are most likely to be cancerous, and a robotic camera is then used to guide biopsy tools through the airways with far greater precision than standard techniques.

The pilot comes alongside plans for the NHS to expand lung cancer screening, ensuring every eligible person is invited for checks in less than five years, no matter where they live, continuing the Government’s drive to tackle inequalities in cancer outcomes as part of the National Cancer Plan.

Lung cancer contributes to a whole year of the nine-year life expectancy gap between richer and poorer parts of England, and the National Cancer Plan will prioritise solving inequalities to ensure patients can get fairer and faster access to cancer care.

The NHS’s top cancer doctor hailed the project at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as “a glimpse of the future of cancer detection”, combining cutting-edge AI with robotic technology that can travel deep inside the lungs to reach tiny, hard-to-access nodules.

The robot can reach nodules as small as 6mm — around the size of a grain of rice — hidden deep in the lung and often too risky or difficult to access using existing methods.

Once AI has highlighted higher-risk areas, doctors can take a precise tissue sample, which is sent to specialist laboratories and reviewed by expert cancer teams to confirm or rule out cancer.

For many patients, weeks of repeat scans and procedures could be replaced with a single, half-hour cancer biopsy, reducing prolonged uncertainty and avoiding more invasive surgery.

If shown to be effective, the technology could help transform lung cancer diagnosis as the NHS screening programme increasingly identifies more people with very small nodules that would previously have gone undetected until much later.

More than 1.5 million people have attended an NHS lung health check since 2021, helping identify thousands of cancers at an earlier, more treatable stage and increasing the need for safe, precise biopsy techniques like robotic bronchoscopy.

The expansion is set to see the NHS invite 1.4 million people for a lung cancer check next year alone. The programme is expected to diagnose up to 50,000 cancers by 2035 and at least 23,000 at an earlier stage, potentially saving thousands of lives.

Professor Peter Johnson, NHS England’s National Clinical Director for Cancer, said: “Waiting to find out if you might have cancer is incredibly stressful for patients and their families.

“Our lung cancer screening programme means that we are picking up more cancers at an early stage than ever, and by bringing AI and robotics together in this trailblazing NHS pilot, we’re bringing in the very latest technology to give clinicians a clearer look inside the lungs and support faster, more accurate biopsies.

“This is a glimpse of the future of cancer detection. Innovation like this is exactly how we can help diagnose more cancers faster, so treatment can be most effective, and why the NHS continues to lead the way in bringing new technology safely into frontline care.”

Wes Streeting, Health and Social Care Secretary, said: “When I was diagnosed with kidney cancer, the NHS saved my life using robotic technology. That experience showed me what’s possible when brilliant clinicians have access to cutting-edge innovation – it saves lives.

“Lung cancer is one of the biggest killers in the UK, taking an extra year of people’s lives in the poorest parts of the country. This pilot will help to catch it earlier, replacing weeks of invasive testing with a single targeted procedure. For patients waiting anxiously for answers, this speed and precision can be life-changing.

“This is our National Cancer Plan in action – shifting from late diagnosis to early intervention and from analogue to digital, ensuring every patient can benefit from the blend of human care alongside game changing technology, no matter where they live.”

Dr Anne Rigg, Medical Director for Cancer and Surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said: “This pilot brings together artificial intelligence and robotic technology as genuinely disruptive tools to simplify and shorten the lung cancer diagnostic pathway. By combining AI-enabled risk stratification with highly precise robotic biopsy, we are reducing delays and unnecessary steps to diagnosis.

“Crucially, this work is being co-designed with patients and frontline clinical teams, ensuring that the pathway is not only faster, but safer, more equitable, and centred on the patient experience. By improving access to advanced diagnostics we can help reduce variation in care for all patients, regardless of where they are referred from.

“Together, these changes have the potential to support earlier diagnosis and treatment for more patients, which is fundamental to improving long-term outcomes in lung cancer.”

One person who has already benefited from an earlier identification of lung cancer via the NHS pilot is David Lindsay, an IT contractor from Streatham, London. David discovered he had stage 1 lung cancer after being referred to Guy’s Hospital for a suspected deep vein thrombosis (blood clot) in his left leg in September 2025. Imaging tests revealed an incidental finding of a nodule on the lung. David had a robotic bronchoscopy to take a tissue sample which confirmed early-stage lung cancer – a primary adenocarcinoma of the left lower lobe. This was followed by robotic, lung-sparing surgery, which is less invasive, to remove the cancer.

David said: “The efficient staff scheduled me in for the bronchoscopy in the morning and I went home in the evening. It was quick and painless. I wasn’t worried because all the staff made me feel comfortable and assured.

“They clearly explained the findings and after a comprehensive discussion, it was agreed that removal of the cancer was the best option in this instance. The operation was a success.

“The deep vein thrombosis was a blessing in disguise because if it hadn’t occurred, I wouldn’t have had the scan, and various tests, and they wouldn’t have seen the cancer. Who knows when I would have had another check-up, and the next time, the cancer may have reached stage 4.

“I’m very grateful and appreciate the work that the NHS and wonderful staff do every day.”

The pilot is being led by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, following successful testing. The team has already carried out around 300 robotic biopsy procedures, with 215 people going on to receive cancer treatment, while others were spared more complex procedures after benign results.

Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said: “Emerging technologies like robotics and AI will be a game-changer for so many people – speeding up access to treatment and delivering improved outcomes for patients which would have been unthinkable even a few short years ago.

“This is what it means to be a world leader in technology – leaving no stone unturned to make sure it delivers for every community and that its potential is being harnessed to deliver cutting-edge services which change lives for the better.”

From January, the pilot formally launches at Guy’s and St Thomas’, with planned expansion to King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, allowing more patients referred with suspected lung cancer to benefit from the new approach.

Dr Jesme Fox, Medical Director at the charity Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said: “We welcome the announcement of this pilot project at Guy’s and St Thomas’s, using AI and robotic technology to more accurately and more quickly diagnose lung cancer.

“Lung cancer, for many, remains a devastating disease. These initiatives mean that more people affected by this disease, will be picked up earlier, be diagnosed faster and so have a better outcome from treatment.”

“We are delighted that the 2030 timeline for the full roll out of the Lung Cancer Screening Programme in England, has been reaffirmed. Screening for people at high risk of lung cancer, with low dose CT chest scans, works. The Programme has already saved thousands of lives, by picking up lung cancer in the early stage, when curative treatment is possible.

“So, if you receive an invitation to take part in the Lung Cancer Screening Programme, do not ignore it.”

If successful, the pilot will help the NHS generate evidence to develop a national commissioning policy for robotic bronchoscopy, supporting more consistent access to the technology across the NHS in future.

Further information

• the pilot is funded through the NHS Cancer Programme – Innovation Open Call (SBRI Healthcare)
• this is the first NHS pilot to integrate Optellum’s AI risk stratification with Intuitive’s Ion robotic bronchoscopy in a single end-to-end lung cancer diagnostic pathway
• Optellum’s Virtual Nodule Clinic is already used across multiple NHS organisations to support lung nodule assessment
• the Ion robotic bronchoscopy system uses an ultra-thin, shape-sensing tube to navigate deep into the lung and take precise biopsy samples
• full evaluation will assess patient and service outcomes; claims relating to survival, waiting times or cost-effectiveness will follow once the pilot is complete
• NHS data shows that since the targeted lung health checks initiative began in 2021, early diagnosis rates for lung cancer have grown more rapidly in the most disadvantaged areas