Fujitsu begins research and development of AI for early detection of pancreatic cancer in Japan
Fujitsu has partnered with Southern Tohoku General Hospital in Fukushima, Japan for a joint research project to come up with an AI solution that helps detect pancreatic cancer from CT scans at an early stage.
According to a press release, the project will use Fujitsu’s AI technology, trained with more than 300 anonymized CT images of pancreatic cancer patients at Tohoku Southern General Hospital, to detect suspected parts of the pancreas affected by cancer.
AI does this by estimating continuity between cross-sectional images before and after considering anatomical tissue connectivity and by automatically performing 3D analysis of areas of strong continuum and planar analysis. areas of weak continuity.
The partners will apply the AI solution in clinical practice to detect typical signs of early-stage pancreatic cancer, including hard-to-detect tumors and pancreatic duct dilation, as well as cysts and atrophy. Local.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
In Japan, Pancreatic cancer patients have lower survival rates than other cancer patients, according to a study by the National Cancer Center of Japan.
Fujitsu notes that pancreatic cancer is generally difficult to detect. Patients often do not notice symptoms because the pancreas is located deep in the human body. Identifying the early signs is also not an easy task because it is difficult to visualize the organ with simple imaging tests.
Fujitsu says developing a technology capable of detecting microscopic markers of pancreatic cancer will play an important role in its early detection.
The goal of the research project is to develop AI to detect markers of pancreatic cancer not only from contrast-enhanced CT but also from non-contrast CT. can help detect pancreatic cancer in its early stages, According to previous studies on Tohoku Southern General Hospital.
Meanwhile, organizations will perform clinical verification tests before introducing the AI solution to real-world applications this year.
TREND TO BIGGER
There have been initiatives to use AI in promoting early detection of pancreatic cancer.
In the United Kingdom, a group of researchers created a AI-powered model to scan patient records and predict who is at risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Their study analyzed more than 1,000 patients 15 years of age and older who were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer between 2005 and 2010 and looked for combinations that predicted who was likely to get the cancer.
Another research collaboration was signed last week between the German medtech company Medi-Globe Group and French Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire in France, also aim to develop an AI-powered software to detect pancreatic cancer from endoscopic ultrasound examinations.
