From pioneering surgical robotics for safer operations to using AI to predict millions of protein structures, UCL Computer Science is leading a revolution across the life sciences and healthcare.
Our innovations in algorithms, artificial intelligence and high-performance computing mean we can unlock biological mysteries, analyse medical and ecological data at population scales, and design systems to support clinicians, researchers and policy makers alike.
We’re shaping a future where we can combat disease, manage health and explore life’s complexity more effectively than ever.
How are we applying computer science to healthcare at UCL Computer Science?
Medical imaging and image computing
Medical imaging uses magnetic field, radio wave and X-ray data to paint a picture of what’s going on inside a patient’s body. By improving the algorithms we use to create the images, we can see more clearly how and why diseases develop, and make more informed choices about how to treat illness.
Thanks to medical image computing, we can do a lot more than just look – we can extract an increasing variety of new information from the images themselves. Our research in advanced medical imaging analysis is underpinning new approaches to all kinds of disease.
Tools and techniques we’ve created to help clinicians learn about neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis are now being redeployed in the fight against prostate cancer, eye diseases, lung diseases and other pathologies. With virtual biopsies, we can replace invasive, painful and risky tissue removal with detailed 3D models of the affected area.
On a much larger scale, disease progression modelling lets us create composites from the scans of thousands of people with the same affliction, so we can diagnose and treat individual diseases more effectively.
Surgical robotics and image-guided intervention
Through surgical robotics and image-assisted intervention tools, our algorithms and machine learning models are guiding the hands of neurosurgeons and surgical oncologists, stabilising their movements and improving their decision-making during the critical moments of operations.
Using these technologies, surgeons can find new, less invasive ways to enter the patient’s body, improving the outcomes of surgery, minimising trauma and making surgical procedures a viable option for older, younger or vulnerable people who would otherwise be considered too high risk.
These innovations are rapidly becoming widely available to clinicians across the world, thanks to UCL Computer Science spinout companies like Panda Surgical (a keyhole neurosurgery platform that went from bench to bedside in less than a year) and Odin Vision (an AI-driven endoscopy application that was recently acquired by optics giant Olympus).
Epidemiology modelling
One of the areas of healthcare that’s benefited most from the growth of large dataset computing is epidemiology.
Analysing the health data of entire populations means we can ensure that everyone gets the right treatment when they need it, and policy makers can intervene effectively and respond to regional and national health crises.
In Malawi, UCL’s Advanced Research Computing team helped build a simulation model of health needs and service delivery, to guide decisions about resource allocation and management at the national level.
The result? The Thanzi la Onse (Health for All) project is simultaneously improving the health of the people of Malawi, and reducing health inequalities across the East, Central and Southern African (ECSA) region.
Bioinformatics and computational biology
The impact of computer science in the life sciences extends far beyond human health. We’re using computational models to predict ecosystem changes, and AI-driven analysis to increase agricultural crop yields.
UCL Computer Science is also revolutionising molecular biology. Our researchers worked with Google DeepMind to create AlphaFold, an AI-driven software platform. By accurately predicting the shapes of hundreds of millions of proteins, AlphaFold has unlocked new possibilities for research and innovation across biology, medicine and biotechnology.
Computational biologists will build on this era-defining breakthrough for decades to come, developing methodologies that could lead to revolutions in drug discovery – and even the design of completely new proteins, potentially offering new hope for sustainable fuel sources or tackling plastic pollution.
What’s coming next?
As AI, quantum computing and other technologies continue to advance, the potential for computer science in healthcare and the life sciences is virtually limitless.
The next decade will see the development of even more sophisticated, reliable, and explainable models – tools that will support everything from personalised medicine to environmental sustainability. UCL Computer Science is committed to making sure these innovations remain reliable, accessible and used for the benefit of as many people as possible.
