Jakarta –
A number of parties are concerned about the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Though sometimes technological advances can bring goodness.
Several forms of technology are used to help diagnose conditions that impair a person’s mobility. One of them is AI used in cancer screening technology to detect potential problems long before they develop into something dangerous.
The technology is currently being used successfully in Hungary, while the United States, United Kingdom and the rest of Europe are considering trials. While there are still many hurdles to be overcome, the technology can be a valuable tool for radiologists and even a lifesaver for many people.
To CNN, Dr. Larry Norton of the Lauder Breast Cancer Center explains that although the technology has been around for decades, AI is becoming a useful tool in fine-tuning the process and helping identify potential health problems.
“AI is a tool used by machines to view images and compare these images with images that have been recorded on the machine to identify abnormalities,” he said.
“This technology can scan a mammogram and identify areas that a radiologist might want to take a closer look at. This is called computer-assisted diagnostics, actually it’s been around since the late 1990s but the technology is still improving.”
Dr. Norton went on to explain how the technology works: “You can see a lot of abnormalities, they are changes but not necessarily cancer. You can’t call everything cancer because when someone does a mammogram, a biopsy is needed (to be sure). It’s not very realistic. What’s done is this technology is identifying risks. This technology can tell a woman ‘you are at high risk for breast cancer’ before it develops into actual breast cancer.”
However, he also emphasized that while AI has made some impressive advances, the technology is being used solely to help humans make decisions, not to completely replace medical professionals.
“One thing humans can do that machines can’t is order special tests. Things like mammograms and MRIs (contrast magnetic resonance imaging),” says Dr. Norton .
“One more thing humans can do is look at previous mammograms and assess if there have been any changes. We only see AI as a tool to help radiologists – X-rays see better images. This is not a stand-alone test, it will not be a substitute for radiologist.”
According to the New York Times, the use of this AI technology in breast cancer screening has reduced the workload of radiologists by about 30% while increasing the cancer detection rate by 13%, and it appears that this is the case. This is really positive news.
They also report that AI has been used in some difficult cases, where radiologists failed to detect early signs of breast cancer, and AI succeeded in identifying the cancer. There have been previous cases where AI has been used to detect lung cancer, and the technology has also been very successful.
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(afr/afr)
