A tool which uses artificial intelligence (AI) will be introduced across the NHS in England to improve the accuracy and speed of breast cancer treatment.

NHS radiotherapy departments will use the technology to target radiation beams against cancer with more precision under the £15.5 million plan.

A trial conducted at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge showed it worked up to two and half times more quickly than medics, who ordinarily spend up to two hours poring over 100 scan cross sections of scans to plan patients’ treatment.

Radiotherapy is used in 50 to 60 per cent of cancers. Estimates suggest AI will be used to improve treatment in more than two thirds of those cases in the future.

Health Secretary Victoria Aitkins said the introduction of the technology to treat breast cancer in English hospitals represented a “historic moment in our treatment of this terrible disease” which will help cut waiting lists and speed up the time between referral and treatment.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will attend a virtual meeting of world leaders on Tuesday as part of an AI Safety Summit in Seoul.

The event is a follow-up to a gathering held at Bletchley Park last year, which resulted in a declaration signed by world leaders “to cooperate on AI to promote inclusive economic growth, sustainable development and innovation, to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, and to foster public trust and confidence in AI systems”.

Mr Sunak said the technology 'promises to improve the accuracy and speed' of breast cancer diagnosis.

The National Institute of Healthcare and Excellence granted approval for the use of AI technology in healthcare last autumn.

It came after a review which found its use would save doctors time “to spend more time with patients or concentrate on complex cases when using AI is not appropriate.”

It is believed the technology could be used in the treatment of other cancers, including lung, prostate and colorectal.

Figures released last year showed that fewer than three in five cancer patients receive their first treatment within two months of an urgent GP referral.

Last year it was revealed that an artificial intelligence-based tool for estimating a newly-diagnosed cancer patient’s chances for surviving long term had been developed by researchers.

Unlike conventional methods that primarily depend on cancer staging, the tool incorporates a myriad influential factors ranging from patient age and tumour size to specific treatment variables, offering a more comprehensive and personalised survival prognosis.