Carlos Mazón during his visit to the La Fe Hospital in Valencia. / EPDA
The president of the Generalitat, Carlos Mazón, has announced that “the Ministry of Health will implement a new image reading system using Artificial Intelligence (AI) from September onwards, which will be applied to mammograms to assist in diagnosis and speed up the process.”
The head of the Consell has valued the use of this technology for “its capacity to analyse medical images, process multimodal data and offer support in clinical decision-making has improved the accuracy, speed and efficiency of medical diagnoses”
Mazón explained that “thanks to this new system, greater precision will be achieved in the reading of images, which means, in addition to improved diagnoses, prioritising suspected cases and reducing the time it takes to access treatments”.
She also highlighted that “one of our priorities is to apply these new technologies in the fight against cancer, our main enemy”. Thus, this new reading system with artificial intelligence will initially be applied in four Breast Cancer Prevention Units (UPCM), so that an evaluation of the process can be carried out to implement it, starting in December, in all UPCMs in the Valencian Community.
Specifically, this pilot project will be installed in the Hospital Clínico and the Hospital de La Fe in Valencia, the Doctor Balmis hospital center in Alicante, and in the General Hospital of Castellón.
AI-based mammogram reading will allow images to be stratified into those with a negative result, intermediate suspicion, or high suspicion of possible breast cancer. This classification is carried out in a very short period of time, so that women will receive the test result more quickly, and in cases of suspected breast cancer, access to complementary tests and, where appropriate, treatment will be faster.
In addition, it will mean a 40% reduction in the workload in the UPCM and radiology services, since professionals will focus on cases in which a suspicion is detected. In addition, it will allow the purpose of the breast cancer screening program to be fulfilled and women can have a mammogram every two years, as established by the protocol.
Firm commitment against cancer
The head of the Consell has highlighted the commitment that the Valencian Government is making to “provide the means, services and technology to fight this disease from the public health system of the Valencian Community.”
In this regard, the president has indicated that “we are allocating resources in all areas, from primary care to the most specialized care, to combat cancer from prevention or early detection to the most advanced stages with the most cutting-edge technology.”
He pointed out as an example the activation of proton therapy at the Hospital de La Fe which “will place the Valencian Community at the forefront of the fight against cancer”. A project that has an investment of 50 million euros, half of which corresponds to the equipment donated by the Amancio Ortega Foundation.
He also referred to the investment of three million for the acquisition of 10 new mammograms, the installation of Gamma Knife radiosurgery at the Hospital Clínico de València or the launch of a radiotherapy service at the Gandía regional hospital that prevents cancer patients from travelling to Valencia, or the implementation of a state-of-the-art equipment that allows adaptive radiotherapy to be carried out valued at 3.8 million euros, among others.
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