BreastScreen Aotearoa seeks AI solutions to address workforce pressures

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Health New Zealand has issued a Request for Information seeking AI solutions for its national breast screening programme as it grapples with a critical shortage of qualified breast radiologists and increased demand.

BreastScreen Aotearoa screens around 270,000 women annually and extended its age range for women from 69 to 74 years-old in October 2025, “exacerbating existing workforce and capacity challenges”, the RFI says.

Forecasts show 30,600 women will receive breast screening in 2025/26, rising to over 54,000 women in 2028/29.

"BSA faces similar challenges to breast screening programmes in other jurisdictions. In particular, there is a national and international shortage of qualified breast radiologists," the documents say.

The organisation is looking for AI reading capabilities for screening mammograms that integrate with its existing infrastructure.

The RFI says any AI system must demonstrate "non-inferior cancer detection performance compared with BSA radiologists" and show "demonstrated diagnostic accuracy for Māori and Pacific ethnicities."

Health Minister Simeon Brown says Health NZ will draw on advice from the health technology sector, engage with the breast screening workforce, and assess international examples of AI use in medical imaging.

"This work is focused on future-proofing breast screening so services remain accessible, patient-centred, and responsive to the needs of women," he says.

“AI is already being used internationally to assist with medical imaging. Exploring how it could complement the work of radiologists in New Zealand is an important step toward strengthening early detection and ensuring the long-term sustainability of screening services,."

Any AI solution must integrate with BreastScreen Aotearoa's custom-developed IT system, Te Puna, which has been in use since June 2025. The system includes screening register, patient administration, clinical record, and radiology information system components built on the Pinga platform.

BSA radiologists currently use either Sectra or Intelerad PACS for reading, with all images archived in a separate, national Sectra PACS. 

The AI solution must comply with New Zealand privacy legislation including the Privacy Act 2020 and Health Information Privacy Code 2020 and New Zealand or Australia data storage is preferred.

"Any AI solution must support New Zealand's data protection and sovereignty requirements by guaranteeing that breast image data is securely stored, transmitted and processed," the RFI states. 

Health New Zealand is also requesting information about breast density reporting, which BSA is looking at incorporating into breast screening.

Also, AI solutions for image quality assistance at the point of acquisition, radiologist reporting for recalled cases, and breast cancer risk prediction and stratification to support future tailored screening approaches.

Health New Zealand recently issued a RFI in October 2025 for Radiology AI Orchestrator and Application Marketplace services, aiming to move from point AI solutions toward an integrated platform for consistent, scalable AI adoption across radiology services nationwide.

The RFI says any breast screening AI solution must be capable of integration with orchestration and application marketplace services when they become available.

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