Deep learning delivers early detection

Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, and elsewhere show that regular screening of at-risk populations can detect many cases of lung cancer much earlier, reducing mortality by 20-30%. The US Preventive Services Task Force, a volunteer group that makes recommendations for clinical preventative services, now recommends annual CT screening in groups at high risk of lung cancer, such as past or current smokers. There's a huge rate of missing those," Bagci says. Because his AI system is trained on thousands of lung scans, it is highly optimized to detect tiny problem areas that specialists might overlook, he says. With AI doing some of the heavy lifting, lung cancer screening programmes could prevent similar numbers of deaths at an even lower cost thanks to increased automation and without imposing as much of a burden on radiologists.