125 more NHS scanners and AI technology are helping deliver a million extra scans each year, supporting earlier cancer diagnosis and faster treatment.
Patients across England are benefiting from faster cancer diagnoses, after one million more scans were delivered thanks to new scanners and cutting-edge AI technology.
NHS England data published on Tuesday 3 November shows that, from March 2024 to March 2026, the number of CT and MRI scanners in the NHS has increased by 125, giving doctors greater capacity to diagnose cancer and other serious conditions earlier and get patients into treatment sooner.
The expansion comes as each month in 2026 so far has set an NHS monthly record for diagnostic activity, with the diagnostic waiting list having fallen in three of the five months since April.
Cancer waiting times are better than last year, and the overall waiting list for elective care is down by over 250,000 since July 2024.