AI is once again proving its worth in assisting humans in their quest for healthy living. Forbes reports on progress of AI in diagnosing breast cancer, this tome at Houston Methodist Research Institute, a hospital in Texas.

researchers from Houston Methodist have developed AI software that can interpret mammogram results a full 30 times quicker than doctors and with 99 percent accuracy, according to the team’s recent study. Published in the journal Cancer, the study found that the software was able to intuitively translate patient charts into diagnostic information for human review at top speeds, which offers doctors reliable and seriously time-saving support when it comes to assessing patient cancer risk and the need for further tests.

To determine the software’s effectiveness for assessing breast cancer risk, the team provided its AI with mammogram and pathology reports of 500 breast cancer patients, as well as information on diagnostic features and correlated mammogram findings for breast cancer subtypes. In just a few hours, the researchers’ AI had successfully assessed patient charts for cancer risk for the entire group; on the other hand, two clinicians needed between 50 and 70 hours to review just 50 patient charts manually, suggesting that such software stands to help save hundreds or thousands of physician hours.

As AI gets better, it will be used in more and more diagnosis, helping doctors to find issues quickly and correctly. As things stand now, many issues are misdiagnosed, leading to unnecessary followup procedures, increasing not only monetary costs, but more importantly, stress of patients. Embracing AI is the way forward.

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