IW Capital has invested in Lucida Medical, a UK-based healthtech company using AI to help clinicians diagnose prostate cancer from MRI scans faster and more accurately. The £8.7m funding round includes participation from existing investors, XTX Ventures and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Lucida’s AI-powered diagnostic service is already working within the NHS to transform diagnostics at a time when cancer rates are rising and radiology capacity is failing to keep pace.
Related: Virchow raises $4M to advance biopsy stewardship and precision oncology access
The ability to read MRI scans quickly and efficiently has become central to prostate cancer diagnoses and treatment pathways but, as the Royal College of Radiologists estimates, there is currently a 30% shortfall in clinical radiologists across the UK – a shortfall which could rise to 40% 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 into Lucida Medical is an investment into patented AI software designed to support earlier and more consistent cancer detection in minutes, not weeks. Using AI to analyse MRI scans aims to improve their accuracy and can reduce unnecessary tests and biopsies, conserving resources for those who need them most.
Dr Antony Rix, Co-founder and CEO of Lucida Medical, says: “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, Lucida Medical is ideally placed to reduce this burden, and this funding will allow us to do that faster.”
Lucida’s first AI product focuses on prostate cancer. According to Macmillan Cancer Support’s research, there are an estimated 610,000 men living with prostate cancer in the UK – a number that has surged by 20% over the past five years, up from around 500,000 in 2020. Alarmingly in 2024, only 55% 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 Advisor at Macmillan Cancer Support, says: “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.”
Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has been using Lucida Medical since 2024 to help cut waiting times in prostate cancer diagnosis. If a scan is found to have a high risk by the software, the case will be reviewed as a priority by a radiologist, and the patient will be booked in for an urgent biopsy.
David Fisher, Senior Investment Director at IW Capital, says: “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.”
The investment from IW Capital will support Lucida Medical’s continued growth, including US FDA approval and the expansion of its AI platform to additional cancer types.
