Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. It accounts for 15% of all new cases in the country, and about one in eight women will be diagnosed with it during their lifetime. In the NHS, breast cancer screening routinely includes a mammogram, which is essentially an X-ray of the breast.
But the future of this early test is at risk as the number of specialists able to read them declines. While this skills shortfall can’t be made up immediately, promising advances in artificial intelligence may be able to help.
Interpreting a mammogram is