AI Breast Screening Technology Reveals Missed Cancers, University of Aberdeen Finds

2023-06-22 12:41:50

Breast screening technology developed using artificial intelligence (AI) can detect abnormalities that would have been missed with current screening procedures, the University of Aberdeen writes in a press release.

AI proved to detect abnormalities that would have been missed with current screening procedures; The software analyzed that one-third of women who developed cancer between screenings;

This groundbreaking work by the University of Aberdeen, NHS Grampian and Kheiron Medical Technologies involved the analysis of 220,000 mammograms from more than 55,000 people to determine how well an AI tool could detect breast cancers.

The AI ​​software, dubbed ‘Mia’, created by Kheiron Medical Technologies Ltd., was reviewed by a research team led by Professor Lesley Anderson, Chair of Health Data Science at the University of Aberdeen, as part of the Industrial Center for Artificial Intelligence Research in Digital Diagnostics (iCAIRD) program. Dr. Clarisse de Vries, an imaging radiology researcher at the University of Aberdeen, led the data analysis.

Identify missed cancers

The analysis found that Mia successfully identified potentially missed cancers, known as “interval cancers,” that were detected between screening visits. The team found that Mia would have suggested calling 34.1 percent of women who developed cancer between screenings. With current screening measures, these cancers went undetected until the women developed symptoms.

Dr. De Vries explains: “At the moment, two experts examine each mammogram and decide whether the person should be asked back for additional testing. If the two experts disagree, a third expert makes the final decision. Like a human expert, Mia can examine a screening mammogram and offer an opinion on whether that person should be called back for additional testing.

“Our discovery is a huge step forward in the use of AI technology in diagnostic medicine – we have shown that AI, once ‘tuned’ to the local environment, can be of enormous benefit to clinicians and, more importantly, to people who are at risk of developing cancer.”

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Improving healthcare

Consultant radiologist Dr. Gerald Lip has been instrumental in embedding Mia in clinical settings: “When Mia was originally applied to the NHS Grampian data, she was too sensitive – she recommended recalling women for further testing when perhaps there was no need to do so. However, Mia’s performance improved significantly when she was adapted to local conditions and technology, recalling as few women as possible while maintaining a high cancer detection rate.

“Previously, it was unclear whether AI tools developed elsewhere could be used in different settings and screening centers. We now know that it entails risks to locally implement an AI tool developed elsewhere. You need to test the tool on the local data first to make sure it works as expected,” says Lip.

Professor Roger Staff, Head of Imaging Physics at NHS Grampian, added: “This is a critical review that identifies the steps needed to bring this technology to use. While the results indicate that the technology is not quite ‘plug and play’, it has the potential for major health and operational benefits for the service.”