Lucida Medical, a healthtech using AI to help clinicians diagnose prostate cancer from MRI scans faster and more accurately, has raised £8.7m in funding led by IW Capital, with participation from XTX Ventures and Macmillan Cancer Support. The funding will support Lucida Medical’s continued growth, including US FDA approval and the expansion of its platform to additional cancer types.
Its diagnostic service is already working within the NHS at a time when cancer rates are rising and radiology capacity is failing to keep pace. The ability to read MRI scans quickly and efficiently has become central to prostate cancer diagnoses and treatment pathways, but there is currently a 30% shortfall in clinical radiologists across the UK, which could rise to 40% by 2028. As a result, scans are taking longer to read, which can lead to weeks of waiting, later-stage diagnoses and increased treatment complexity and cost.
The software is designed to support earlier and more consistent cancer detection in minutes rather than weeks. By analysing MRI scans, it aims to improve accuracy, reduce unnecessary tests and biopsies, and conserve resources for patients who need them most. For clinicians and hospitals, it offers the potential to reduce reporting backlogs, cut outsourcing costs and support consistent decision-making.
Its technology is approved for use in the UK and EU and has deployments underway across 15 NHS hospitals. Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has been using Lucida Medical since 2024 to help cut waiting times in prostate cancer diagnosis, prioritising high-risk cases for rapid review and urgent biopsy.
According to Macmillan Cancer Support, there are an estimated 610,000 men living with prostate cancer in the UK, up 20% from around 500,000 in 2020. In 2024, only 55% of men in England were diagnosed before the cancer had spread beyond the prostate.
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.
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.
Lucida Medical is addressing a critical bottleneck in modern healthcare. As populations age and incidence rates of cancer rise, the ability to diagnose cancer earlier and more efficiently is essential and forms part of a major Government plan. The company combines deep clinical expertise, strong NHS validation and a scalable technology platform, and we are pleased to support its next phase of growth.
