Lucida Medical has raised £8.7m for AI-powered prostate cancer diagnosis from MRI scans, backed by IW Capital and existing investors.
Lucida Medical is a Cambridge and health tech company using AI to help clinicians diagnose prostate cancer from MRI scans faster and more accurately.
Lucida’s AI-powered diagnostic service is already working within the NHS at a time when cancer rates are rising and radiology capacity is failing to keep pace.
Dr Antony Rix, co-founder and chief executive of Lucida Medical, said: “Cancer imaging volumes are rising rapidly but reporting capacity is not keeping pace.
“Our goal is to give clinicians faster, more confident decisions while reducing unnecessary interventions for patients.”
“With our deep focus on prostate cancer and strong clinical validation across NHS pathways, we’re showing how AI can deliver earlier and more accurate diagnoses.
“In the NHS, few Trusts can confirm or rule out cancer within 28 days, and some patients can wait two months or longer.
“Lucida Medical is ideally placed to reduce this burden, and this funding will allow us to do that faster.”
The Royal College of Radiologists estimates there is currently a 30 per cent shortfall in clinical radiologists across the UK, a gap that could rise to 40 per cent by 2028.
As a result, cancer scans are taking longer to read, which can mean weeks of anxiety for patients, an increased likelihood of later-stage diagnoses and higher treatment complexity and cost.
The investment in Lucida Medical supports patented AI software designed to help earlier and more consistent cancer detection in minutes, not weeks.
Using AI to analyse MRI scans aims to improve accuracy and can reduce unnecessary tests and biopsies, conserving resources for those who need them most.
According to Macmillan Cancer Support’s research, there are an estimated 610,000 men living with prostate cancer in the UK, up 20 per cent from around 500,000 in 2020.
In 2024, only 55 per cent of men in England were diagnosed before the cancer had spread beyond the prostate, when chances of successful treatment and the best possible outcomes are at their highest.
For such patients, Lucida’s approach aims to support faster answers, fewer invasive procedures and earlier treatment where cancer is present. For doctors and hospitals, it offers the potential to reduce reporting backlogs, cut outsourcing costs and support clinical teams with consistent, high-quality decision-making support.
The technology is approved for use in the UK and EU and has deployments underway across 15 NHS hospitals.
Anthony Cunliffe, lead medical adviser at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “When it comes to prostate cancer, far too many men are still being diagnosed far too late.
“We need to see better symptoms awareness so men seek help earlier and, if we can combine that with speedier diagnosis, we could help revolutionise care for the tens of thousands of men diagnosed with prostate cancer each year in the UK.
“Lucida Medical’s AI diagnosis platform has the potential to make a very real and immediate improvement for people living with cancer and that is why we are so very pleased to be supporting them.”
