Entrepreneurial alumnus designs award-winning cancer diagnosis app

Miles Payling and Bhavagaya Bakshi

An Imperial alumnus who has designed a decision support app to enable GPs to see the early signs of cancer has won a prestigious digital health award.

Dr Miles Payling, a 2011 graduate of the MBBS in Medicine course, won the People’s Award at the seventh AbilityNet Tech4Good Awards at a ceremony held last week at BT Centre, London. These are the only awards that specifically celebrate the of digital technology to improve people’s lives across the globe. 

C the Signs is the brainchild of Miles and co-founder Dr Bhavagaya Bakshi, who have first-hand experience as doctors of the difficulty of diagnosing cancer. Unlike other diseases, there is no single identifiable symptom or test that can alert GPs to a potential diagnosis

“At the moment, GPs rely on intricate symptom combinations and paper-based guidelines, which are extraordinarily difficult to commit to memory. It is so time-consuming that many are not using them,” said Miles.

“An app or website can be the quickest and easiest way of supporting GPs in their decision making, meaning we can catch patients early, giving them the best chance we have to cure them.”

The tool, which is available as a mobile app or website, combines artificial intelligence and the latest evidence-based NICE guidelines to help GPs identify potential signs of cancer early. Through advanced algorithms, it can capture the less obvious signs and symptoms across the full spectrum of cancer in as little as 30 seconds, speeding up the decision-making process. 

A key feature of the technology is its ability to easily cross reference data against diagnostic referral pathways, meaning patients can be immediately referred if their symptoms reach a particular threshold. A secondary step of the tool enables the C the Signs team to monitor the data and match that with the capacity for specialists in a particular Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).

Miles, a self-taught coder, was required to learn a number of new programming languages in order to be equipped with the skills to develop the tool’s complex algorithm design. The tool, which was developed over the course of nine months, has already received support from a number of leading charities and bodies within the NHS.

In response to winning the award, Miles said: “We are extremely grateful for this award, particularly as it was voted for by the charities, doctors and patient groups who are directly affected by this often-devastating disease.”

“Early diagnosis of cancer could save thousands of lives and, from speaking to early users, this tool will make the process easier.”

Co-founder Dr Bakshi told GP news outlet, Pulse: “We launched the pilot last week in Luton and Herts Valleys CCG, which is roughly 1,000 Doctors covering a population of 850,000 patients.” Following completion of the pilot, the team hope to launch the tool nationally to all GPs. 

Since graduating from his medical degree, Miles has juggled four years of working in the NHS alongside cultivating his interest in technology and design. He is one of the rising numbers of doctors and medical students that are now turning creative ideas into innovative products, apps, and websites to enhance patient care. As well as C the Signs, Miles has developed a number of web-based and mobile application solutions to healthcare services. 

Miles explained that his entrepreneurial spirit stems from “the recognition that problems you face in work can often be solved with simple technology.” He added: “Innovation and courses that foster entrepreneurship should be encouraged in all MBBS programmes. The NHS is increasingly recognising the need for innovators to develop ideas and technologies to create change. This will be fundamental to its future.”

Miles added that the experiences gained whilst studying at Imperial played a big part in developing his enterprises: “The whole ethos at Imperial was to work hard and embrace change, particularly with new technologies. This continues to drive me today."