Artificial intelligence reduces cancer radiotherapy time  

AI at the service of medicine

A new type of artificial intelligence technology promises to reduce the time cancer patients have to wait before starting radiotherapy and will even be offered at cost to the UK health system. It helps doctors calculate precisely where to direct the rays to kill cancer cells, with the least possible damage to healthy cells.

The program took a decade of development and was done by researchers at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in collaboration with Microsoft.

For each patient, doctors spend 25 minutes to 2 hours analyzing about 100 CT scans, sorting out bones and organs. AI can complete this process 2.5 times faster.

Of course the doctors control all the contours drawn by the artificial intelligence for now. The researchers say it is 90% accurate, while doctors approve the AI’s design without corrections on their part about two-thirds of the time.

We are very excited about the potential of AI to replace some processes and procedures, including cancer diagnoses and treatment. AI has the potential to speed up the diagnosis process, helping doctors catch disease earlier, giving patients the best chance for treatment. Clinical radiologists interpret complex scans and guide treatment or surgery – there is no question of replacement, real radiologists are important and irreplaceable. However, a radiologist with the speed and accuracy of AI data is a force to be reckoned with in patient care. While AI shows immense potential and will certainly ease the burden and pressure on the workforce, it cannot replace trained and competent professionals. –Dr. Katharine Halliday, President of the Royal College of Radiologists