Dxcover Brain Test: Accelerating brain tumour detection
Find out how Dxcover Brain Test is using a simple blood test and artificial intelligence to help detect brain tumours earlier, enabling faster referrals and improving access to timely diagnosis and treatment.
Brain tumours are among the most challenging cancers to diagnose. Symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and memory problems are often vague and overlap with many other conditions, making it difficult to identify which patients need urgent investigation. As a result, around two-thirds of brain tumours are diagnosed through emergency presentations, delaying treatment and adding pressure to NHS services.
Dxcover Brain is changing that. Using a very small volume of blood and artificial intelligence, the test can rapidly identify patients who may have a brain tumour, helping clinicians make faster, more informed referral decisions. With results available within one day of receiving a sample, the test can ensure patients are referred into the right pathway sooner.
Now an NHS Innovation Accelerator fellow, Abigail Lishman is working to scale the technology across the NHS and beyond, while exploring how the same approach could transform the detection of other cancers.
What is Dxcover Brain Test and what problem does it solve?
Dxcover Brain is a blood-based triage test designed to help detect brain tumours in patients presenting with non-specific symptoms.
Rather than replacing existing diagnostic pathways, the test supports earlier decision-making by helping clinicians identify which patients should be referred for further investigation.
“Two-thirds of brain tumour patients are currently diagnosed through A&E because early symptoms rarely provide a clear indication for urgent brain imaging. There is a huge need for a rapid and minimally invasive way of assessing who requires an urgent brain scan.”
“Two-thirds of brain tumour patients are currently diagnosed through A&E because early symptoms rarely provide a clear indication for urgent brain imaging. There is a huge need for a rapid and minimally invasive way of assessing who requires an urgent brain scan.”
The technology combines infrared (IR) spectroscopy with machine learning to analyse the molecular fingerprint of a blood sample. Instead of looking for a single tumour marker, it measures the complete biochemical signature and uses artificial intelligence to predict whether cancer is likely to be present.
This approach overcomes one of the key limitations of many liquid biopsy technologies, which rely on tumour-derived biomarkers that may only become detectable in later stages of disease.
By enabling earlier identification of patients who need urgent investigation, Dxcover Brain has the potential to improve outcomes while making referral pathways more efficient.
What was your inspiration and motivation?
Dxcover was founded with the ambition of applying infrared spectroscopy to cancer detection, with brain tumours quickly emerging as an area of significant unmet clinical need.
The founders recognised that analysing the entire biochemical profile of a blood sample, rather than searching for individual tumour markers, could unlock a new approach to earlier cancer detection.
For Abigail, the opportunity to work on technology with the potential to improve care for these patients was impossible to ignore.
What keeps the work exciting is the scale of the opportunity. While the immediate focus is improving brain tumour diagnosis, the same platform has the potential to support earlier detection across many different cancers.
“I am passionate about liquid biopsy and game-changing medical technology, and that’s exactly what we have at Dxcover. There are so many cancers and conditions that could benefit from this.”
“I am passionate about liquid biopsy and game-changing medical technology, and that’s exactly what we have at Dxcover. There are so many cancers and conditions that could benefit from this.”
Why did you become a fellow?
Joining the NHS Innovation Accelerator has been both a privilege and an important endorsement of the innovation.
For Abigail, the fellowship represents more than professional development. It provides independent validation that the technology has the potential to make a meaningful difference across the NHS.
The opportunity to learn from fellow innovators and build relationships across the health system has already proved invaluable.
“I was so delighted to be selected. I’m truly honoured and humbled to stand alongside such an exceptional, driven, and likeable group of people. The fellowship gives me access to a lot of immediately applicable learning today, whilst building knowledge for tomorrow.”
Looking ahead
Over the next five years, Abigail hopes to see the Dxcover early cancer detection platform adopted more widely across the NHS and Europe, helping more patients benefit from faster diagnosis while supporting more efficient cancer pathways.
Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that fewer patients experience delayed brain tumour diagnoses and that more people can benefit from earlier, faster access to the care they need.
Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that fewer patients experience delayed brain tumour diagnoses and that more people can benefit from earlier, faster access to the care they need.
Want to find out more? Visit the innovation page where you can contact the innovator directly, or check out their website.
