A group of scientists has embarked on groundbreaking artificial intelligence (AI) research model that could predict disease and complications before an outbreak.
The groundbreaking model, which uses technology similar to ChatGPT, is undergoing training using NHS data from 57 million people in England.
Marked as a world first, with researchers from University College London (UCL) and King’s College London (KCL), officials said the soon-to-be-launched AI, known as Foresight, has the potential to unlock a healthcare revolution.
Foresight, which will be trained using eight collected datasets, will, instead of predicting text like ChatGPT, use patient medical histories to examine potential future health challenges.
Among the routine datasets to be used—which contain personal data—are hospital admissions, A&E attendances, and Covid-19 vaccination rates.
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Dr Chris Tomlinson of UCL described the AI model as a “significant event and exciting step” to prevent deterioration, and predict disease and complications before they happen, with the aim of tackling and preventing disease outbreaks.
“And to give a practical example of what that actually looks like, we could use Foresight to look across the whole population and predict the risk of, for example, unscheduled hospitalisation,” Dr Tomlinson said.
Although this study is currently limited to Covid-19-related research, Dr Tomlinson said the research will help inform them about the next pandemic.
“We’re also testing the model’s ability to generalise to other important healthcare outcomes, such as predicting the risk of hospitalisation or death in the next year, as well as the onset of over 1,000 different conditions,” Dr Tomlinson added.
The group of researchers also aims to increase the depth and capability of Foresight by including richer sources of data—information such as physicians’ notes and the results of investigations like blood tests or scans.
According to NHS England, the pilot will operate using de-personalised patient data, ensuring that all information remains securely under NHS control.
The initiative builds on promising research published in The Lancet Digital Health in March 2024, which demonstrated the ability of the AI tool to predict the types of health conditions a patient might develop in the future.
Dr Vin Diwakar, National Director of Transformation at NHS England, highlighted the significance of the Secure Data Environment in driving innovation.
“The NHS Secure Data Environment has been fundamental to this pioneering research, shaping a future where earlier treatments and interventions are targeted to those who will benefit, preventing future ill health,” he said. “This will boost our ability to move quickly towards personalised, preventative care.”
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle also praised the initiative, pointing to its broader implications for healthcare and the economy.
“This ambitious research shows how AI, paired with the NHS’s wealth of secure and anonymised data, is set to unlock a healthcare revolution,” he said. “This technology is transforming what’s possible in tackling a host of debilitating diseases, from diagnosis to treatment to prevention.
“This is work that will be instrumental to this Government’s missions to overhaul healthcare and grow the economy, which sit at the heart of our Plan for Change. And an unrelenting focus on privacy and security means people can rest assured that their data is in safe hands.”
The pilot follows earlier research involving data from two NHS trusts, which confirmed Foresight’s potential to map individual health trajectories.
Prof Richard Dobson, Deputy Director of the NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre and lead researcher at King’s College London and University College London, expressed enthusiasm for the pilot’s national rollout.
He said, “To be able to use it in a national setting is very exciting, as it will potentially demonstrate more powerful predictions that can inform services nationally and locally.”
