AI has revolutionised the way how this world works. Today, AI is being used in pretty much every industry to an extent. According to statistics, around 72% of companies worldwide are either using or exploring AI applications for their operations. The medical industry is no different. It also uses AI applications to improve its process. Recently, many countries worldwide have been using AI to detect various types of cancers. In this blog, we will discuss can artificial intelligence help detect cancer. And how medical professionals are doing cancer detection using AI.
Researchers at the University Of Pennsylvania recently developed a new tool to diagnose cancer more efficiently. The tool is called iSTAR or Inferring Super-Resolution Tissue Architecture. It provides a highly detailed view of the individual cells and also gives a broader understanding of how a person’s genes operate. This helps medical professionals interpret the medical images with utmost clarity and may also help detect cancer early. In a statement, the researchers said that the tool will allow medical professionals to see the cells that were previously invisible.
How Do Doctors Detect Cancer Using AI
Even with the technology to reach Mars, we still don’t know how to detect cancer properly. However, researchers are looking into AI cancer diagnosis. To answer how can artificial intelligence help detect cancer, we first have to take a look at how cancer is diagnosed generally. Traditionally, biopsy, examinations under a microscope and imaging test results are the only way to detect cancer. The problem with this approach is that the detection of cancer and its severity can differ depending on the medical professional, which could result in a fatality.
However, Artificial intelligence can examine these images with absolutely no bias and use deep learning techniques to diagnose the fatal disease accurately. iSTAR is fed with older information on cancer patients, allowing it to better understand the signs medical professionals look for and then look at the same sign with utmost precision.
To test can artificial intelligence help detect cancer, researchers used the tool to detect cancer from several cancer tissues, including breast, kidney, colorectal, and prostate cancer, along with a few samples of healthy tissue. As expected, iSTAR could detect cancer tumours and cells that would have slipped from the eyes of professionals.
There have been a few AI cancer diagnosis tools in the past. However, iSTAR is in a league of its own. It is much faster and more accurate when compared to other tools that do cancer detection using AI. The researchers gave the data set of a breast cancer case to iSTAR, and it completed the analysis in less than 9 minutes. On the contrary, competitive tools took more than 20 hours to achieve the same feat. This shows how capable iSTAR is and how revolutionary it can be if released in the public domain.
For now, the researchers are performing various tests on the tool to ensure that the answer to your question of can artificial intelligence help detect cancer is yes.
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AI For Cancer Treatment
Now that you know about AI cancer diagnose, it’s time to discuss how it can be used during the treatment. In traditional treatment, 1 out of every 3 people are not able to make it due to the adverse effects of the treatment rather than cancer. This happens mostly because the treatment of cancer is quite generic and affects different people in different ways. However, by using AI, doctors can ensure that people get the best treatment for them, depending on their health conditions. In short, AI can help doctors fabricate a personalised treatment plan so that the side effects of the treatment can be minimised.
Moreover, by using AI, doctors will understand how the body reacts to treatment. It can tell doctors how fast the cancer is spreading and to what extent it has spread. For example, bladder cancer is one of the most popular types of cancer and in more than 50% of patients, it has already spread outside the bladder before doctors can even diagnose it. In most cases, the cancer cells spread rapidly, and the worst part is that the cells are too small to be detected. Moreover, if these cells are not removed, the cancer can grow again even after the treatment, which is never ideal.
Another way in which AI can be used to treat cancer is by manufacturing new and effective medicines. Generally, creating a new medicine requires years of work and more years to get it approved. Pharmacists combine many molecules and then choose the most stable combination with the least side effects. This takes years, but AI software can perform this task much faster and more efficiently. It can also subside some of the worst side effects. It can gather the genetic marker of the patient and then fabricate a tailor-made medication.
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Detect Cancer? Future Prospect
Although the technology is fairly new, experts in the medical field are optimistic about the software. But can artificial intelligence help detect cancer in the near future? Well, the simple answer is that it can. This is a huge achievement in the field of medical science, probably the biggest achievement ever. However, there is still a lot to unfold; we still don’t know how stable the software is or how it will perform when used on a larger scale. This is it for now. We hope you like the blog. Comment and let us know what topic you want us to cover next.
