AI Automatically Sorts Cancer Cells (asianscientist.com)

Researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system that can automatically differentiate between different types of cancer cells and their sensitivity to radiotherapy. From a report: A team of researchers in Japan have devised an artificial intelligence (AI) system that can identify different types of cancer cells using microscopy images. Their method can also be used to determine whether the cancer cells are sensitive to radiotherapy. The researchers reported their findings in the journal Cancer Research. In cancer patients, there can be tremendous variation in the types of cancer cells in a single tumor. Identifying the specific cell types present in tumors can be very useful when choosing the most effective treatment. However, making accurate assessments of cell types is time consuming and often hampered by human error and the limits of human sight. To overcome these challenges, scientists led by Professor Hideshi Ishii of Osaka University, Japan, have developed an AI system that can identify different types of cancer cells from microscopy images, achieving higher accuracy than human judgement.

Comments

But

[nospam007]

But if you have already removed the tumor and put its cells under the microscope, does it really matter which is which?

Re:But

[The Darkness]

But if you have already removed the tumor and put its cells under the microscope, does it really matter which is which?

Yes. They have not necessarily removed the entire tumor. This could be useful in examining a biopsy to see how to treat what's left.

Re: But

[Anonymous Coward]

Other than some irrelevant infectious organisms that tend to tag team with tumors, I would guess that if you have removed the tumor(s) and identified them and are confident they are gone, then you should be pleased. Some people need several days of bed rest if the tumors are particularly nasty, others not long at all

Re:But

[jbengt]

But if you have already removed the tumor and put its cells under the microscope, does it really matter which is which?

After you remove a tumor you just might want to know whether it was cancerous or benign, and if cancerous, you're probably going to want to know how mobile the cells are, in order to decide what to do next.
Anyway, most biopsies do not try to remove all the cancer, just a sample to judge what the proper course is before undertaking a more serious operation. Many times, if you just remove the tumor, you're going to miss cancerous cells nearby, so you want to know ahead of time how much surrounding tissue to get rid of, and other options for fighting it.

Re: But

[The Darkness]

Other than some irrelevant infectious organisms that tend to tag team with tumors, I would guess that if you have removed the tumor(s) and identified them and are confident they are gone, then you should be pleased. Some people need several days of bed rest if the tumors are particularly nasty, others not long at all

A biopsy is not necessarily the entire tumor:

biopsy /bäps/
noun
an examination of tissue removed from a living body to discover the presence, cause, or extent of a disease.

To state it differently, a small chunk of the tumor can be removed and then examined to see how best to treat the remainder of the tumor. Taking a biopsy can be done in a much less invasive manner than excising the entire tumor.

Re:Software is not AI

[Paradise Pete]

Can we please stop calling a program that analyzes pictures AI?

Exactly. The popular press needs to learn that the proper Slashdot definition of AI is "Things computers can't yet do."

VGG16 is not AI

[Nova77]

So now a simple (old style!) convnet is AI?

98% accurate

[manu0601]

Paper claims this AI is 96% accurate, but how do humans fare?

Re:Software is not AI

[Paradise Pete]

I'm not going to call you.