Scientists have been attempting to gauge just how much artificial intelligence can be used to supplement–and, in some cases, perhaps even supplant—doctors, radiologists, lab technicians, and other healthcare workers. Now, new research from Japanese scientists suggests AI could be used to detect colorectal cancer in its earliest stages, before tumors become malignant and deadly cancer becomes much harder to treat. In fact, the tech was able to detect cancer with 86% accuracy.
Study lead, from Showa University presented the new data at the United European Gastroenterology conference in Barcelona. Mori and his team collected tens of thousands of high-resolution images of pre-cancerous and cancerous cells in order to kick the machine learning process into gear; their AI algorithm was then able to discern cancers from highly magnified pictures of colorectal polyps within just a second. The…
