News & Articles

The Queen Square Imaging Centre launches a new lung cancer screening service in collaboration with Heart & Lung Health

The Queen Square Imaging Centre is pleased to have partnered with Heart & Lung Health to launch a new one-stop lung health assessment service.  The new service not only gives people with a high risk of developing lung cancer the opportunity to identify the signs of the disease at the earliest possible stage but may also be used to look for the signs of other lung abnormalities, including damage caused by a COVID-19 infection.

Led by the award-winning team of consultant cardiothoracic radiologists behind Heart & Lung Health the new service uses low-dose CT scanning to detect subtle signs of early lung cancer (nodules) in their earliest, most curable stage.  Whilst these signs may be invisible on a conventional chest x-ray, low-dose CT scans performed by the Queen Square Imaging Centre can detect these crucial signs, which can then be further analysed and categorised using powerful state of the art artificial intelligence software. 

These scans take only minutes, are completely painless and non-invasive, and use only a fraction of the radiation dose of a standard CT scan.

As Heart & Lung Health explained: 

Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK, and most patients are diagnosed after they have developed symptoms. This usually corresponds to more advanced disease, which often has a much smaller chance of cure.

Using low-dose CT scans, we can offer lung cancer screening for at-risk patients before significant symptoms have developed.  This includes patients who smoke but also those who have stopped smoking within the last 15 years or those with a family history of lung cancer. Screening allows us to diagnose lung cancer at a far earlier stage as well as allowing a complete assessment of the lungs for other diseases such as lung scarring. 

Using cutting edge AI software, we can accurately measure the amount of emphysema present in the lungs and determine the most appropriate treatment for any small lung nodules detected.”

Jodee Cooper, the CEO of QS Enterprises, the charitable organisation that operates the Queen Square Imaging Centre said:

We are delighted to make lung health assessment available to patients in London and beyond with this new service.  Whilst our focus has typically always been imaging for neurological and neurosurgical conditions owing to our co-location with the renowned National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, our facilities are well equipped to support all patients. We are well accustomed to working with top specialists to offer truly world-class care that is convenient and accessible to all.  The expertise that the Heart & Lung Health team bring to this service has enabled us to develop an innovative service which will result in earlier lung cancer diagnosis and better outcomes for patients at high risk.

Comprehensive lung health assessment, including a low dose CT scan and consultation with a leading lung specialist, costs £699 with the Queen Square Imaging Centre.