AI Algorithms and Prostate Cancer Treatment
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The rise of AI algorithms and technology is having an impact on all aspects of society. Tech leaders expect it to grow in that regard swiftly and at an exponential rate. Medical researchers have also begun applying relevant AI-assisted work and technology to cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Advances in AI algorithms show promising new ways to identify, diagnose and treat prostate cancer. For instance, scientists recently developed a new AI algorithm that is very proficient in identifying cases of prostate cancer. Additionally, the new artificial intelligence has proven very effective at grading cases of prostate cancer.
The main method data they’ve input into the AI has been from prostate cancer biopsies. This is also encouraging since it uses specifically slides from core needle prostate biopsies, the most commonly used form of biopsy.
How are AI algorithms helpful for prostate cancer diagnosis?
Unfortunately, there has been a rise in the necessity for prostate cancer tests since there has been a rise in cases of prostate cancer. This new artificial intelligence is very effective and efficient in its diagnosis, making meeting the rising demand for tests much more manageable. Already that is a very significant benefit of this new technology.
UPMC researchers began by training the artificial intelligence to detect symptoms of cancer in the prostate. To do this they provided the algorithm with almost 1.4 million slides from over 500 different prostate tissue samples.
With this data, researchers proceeded to test the AI’s precision. They used over 2,500 slides from the prostate tissue of 210 different patients. It was very successful, accurately differentiating 99% of true positive cases and over 90% of true negative cases.
But the specificity of this AI algorithm goes beyond just these differentiations. It also proved to effectively differentiate different grades of tumors from each other. Meaning it could tell the difference between early and more advanced forms of prostate cancer.
Other AI-assisted software useful for prostate cancer detection
The FDA recently cleared a new neural network and deep learning AI system that makes it much easier for doctors to detect bone metastasized prostate cancer. When prostate cancer metastasizes to the bones, it creates heat pockets. The AI algorithm is very adept at detecting these hotspots during scans.
This can help doctors find out if prostate cancer has spread beyond said reproductive organ sooner. This is also incredibly beneficial to clinicians and patients alike. Due to the fact that typically clinicians perform these tests themselves. This can be time-consuming and make it more challenging to take on more patients.
This developer (Lantheus Holdings) has called their new AI program aBSI. After multiple trials and tests producing evidence of its effectiveness under clinical utility, the program has been approved and cleared by the FDA.
Check our resources section for further information. Where you can also find inspiration from success and survival stories. Or we can help you connect with a prostate cancer survivor.
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