The Cancer
Innovation
Challenge aims
to inspire data
and technical
proposals to help Scotland become a
world leading health system for people
with the disease.
Chief medical officer Dr Catherine
Calderwood launched the new
programme on the last day of
DataFest17 in Edinburgh – which has
attracted international experts to
celebrate data innovation and showcase
Scotland’s world class data science
capabilities.
A patient’s cancer journey leaves a data
trail from diagnosis to treatment to
recovery. The Cancer Innovation
Challenge invites data scientists,
technicians and clinicians to develop
leading-edge solutions that will allow
the NHS in Scotland to use this data to
refine diagnosis, select treatments and
improve the experience for patients.
This could be by generating analytical
insights into care resourcing or useful
ways of visualising large amounts of
data on treatment plans or
prescriptions. It will aim to enable
patients to record experiences of their
cancer journey and integrate the
resulting data into NHS systems to
improve patient care.
Dr Calderwood, said: “If used in the
right way, data can be a vital tool in our
efforts to improve services, treatments
and outcomes for people with cancer.
This Cancer Challenge is about finding
innovative ways of using the data that
exists, while continuing to guarantee
patient confidentiality. I look forward
to seeing the outcomes of this challenge,
and the benefits it will bring to cancer
patients and their families.”
The Cancer Innovation Challenge is
funded by the Scottish Funding Council
and is being delivered by three Scottish
innovation centres – led by The Data
Lab and supported by the Digital Health
and Care Institute (DHI) and Stratified
Medicine Scotland (SMS).
Gillian Docherty, chief executive of The
Data Lab, said: “There have been
phenomenal advances in cancer care in
Scotland over the last decade, and while
we understand the outcomes of patient
care, time and funding constraints
sometimes limit our ability to analyse
how cancer services could be improved.
The data industry will contribute £20
billion to Scotland’s economy by 2020
and data has the power to help better
provide better cancer services.”
The challenge will work with healthcare
professionals to create a safe, secure
and anonymous environment, which
will protect patient confidentially, for
data linkage and analysis.
Open Cancer Data Dive events and a
programme of public engagement
activities will also be held as part of the
initiative.
John Kemp, interim Chief Executive of
the Scottish Funding Council, said: “A
challenge to improve the prevention of
cancer and care of people with cancer is
good news for patients and for Scotland.
“Combining the different areas of
expertise in the three innovation
centres and the NHS will help Scotland
become a world leading carer for people
with cancer.”