This story was first published in digitalhealth.net
Cancer identification AI ‘incredibly exciting’, says researchers
Researchers at Stanford University have designed an artificial intelligence (AI) system which is able to identify skin cancer in photos as accurately as specialist doctors.
The AI was redesigned from software initially developed Google. It was programmed to remember 129,450 photographs along with what type of skin condition each photograph related to. The AI then used algorithms to learn to identify distinctive characteristics of different forms of skin cancers, from carcinomas to melanomas.
Dr Andre Esteva, one of the researchers involved in the project, said: “We made a very powerful machine learning algorithm that learns from data. Instead of writing into computer code exactly what to look for, you let the algorithm figure it out.”
Postulating further, Esteva commented: “My main eureka moment was when I realized just how ubiquitous smartphones will be. Everyone will have a supercomputer in their pockets with a number of sensors in it, including a camera. What if we could use it to visually screen for skin cancer? Or other ailments?”
Dr Jana Witt, from the charity Cancer Research UK, said: "Using artificial intelligence to help diagnose skin cancer is very interesting, as it could support assessments by GPs and dermatologists."
But Witt added: "It's unlikely that AI will replace all of the other information your clinician would consider when making a diagnosis, but AI could help guide GP referrals to specialists in the future."
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