Artificial intelligence (AI) research led by a University of Colorado School of Medicine professor may help clinicians more easily diagnose two conditions: cervical cancer and an infant eye disease that can lead to blindness. He has had a long-standing interest in how AI technology can improve diagnoses of both diseases. Formerly at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Kalpathy-Cramer collaborated on numerous studies that incorporate and analyze how specialized AI models can assist the diagnostic process of these conditions, particularly in middle- and low-income countries.

I have worked in AI applications in radiology and ophthalmology for many years, well before it became a hot topic, she said. After I gave a talk at a conference about some of the challenges in developing and deploying robust AI algorithms, some colleagues from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reached out to me saying they had encountered similar technical challenges, and we began collaborating on AI in cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer cases and deaths occur in areas that lack resources for effective cervical cancer screening and management, including areas in Latin America, Asia and Africa. When screening and treatment is not available, many women are diagnosed at later stages of the disease when fewer treatment options exist, according to Kalpathy-Cramer. Researchers have tested the approach retrospectively in 50,000 women. The strategy focuses on better identifying patients at highest and lowest risk for cervical cancer, so that time and resources can be channeled toward those at highest risk.

Twelve HPV genotypes have been causally associated with cervical cancer. The cancer risk varies substantially by genotype; the highest risk type (HPV 16) causes over 50% of cancers, while the lowest risk types cause only 1-2% of cancers. In addition, precancerous changes can be visualized as white patches on the cervix after the application of acetic acid, and AI has been trained to identify concerning features in a digital image.

Source: https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/artificial-intelligence-may-improve-diagnosis-of-cervical-cancer-infant-eye-disease