Artificial intelligence can be more effective than experienced doctors at identifying breast cancer abnormalities in ultrasound images, research by New York University Abu Dhabi and a US medical centre has shown.
The study follows other findings in which AI has been shown to outperform clinicians in medical diagnosis and it could signal a major shift in how the technology is used in hospitals.
One of the scientists behind the latest study, Dr Farah Shamout, an assistant professor of computer engineering at NYU Abu Dhabi, said AI was likely to have “quite enormous” an effect in medicine.
We’re not only improving the diagnosis of cancer, but also improving the confirmation there’s no cancer, which is also important for patients
Dr Farah Shamout,
NYU Abu Dhabi
“AI is showing high potential in improving the performance of certain tasks like diagnosis and predicting prognosis,” she said.
“Once it replaces the traditional techniques that we’ve been using that have been shown to underperform compared to AI, it will have a great effect in terms of improving patient outcomes.”
Published in the journal Nature Communications, the new study looked at how effective a neural network - a computer system that carries out tasks in a way similar to how the brain does - was at identifying malignant lesions in ultrasound images. These are images produced by scanning a tissue or organs with sound at a frequency higher than can be heard by people.
The neural network was trained using more than 280,000 ultrasound images from more than 140,000 patients examined at NYU Langone, a New York-based medical centre, between 2012 and 2019.
It was found to perform better on average than 10 certified radiologists at highlighting potentially cancerous lesions in ultrasound images.
The study also found, however, that a combination of AI and analysis by radiologists was the most effective way to check ultrasound images, being better than AI alone or doctors on their own.
Another key finding was that AI could help to cut the number of false positives, which are cases where breast cancer was suspected, when it was actually not present. False positives can lead to unnecessary biopsies, which waste money and can be unpleasant for patients.
“The use of the network can improve the specificity of cancer diagnosis and reduce false positive findings, which can lead to unnecessary biopsies,” said Dr Shamout.
“We’re not only improving the diagnosis of cancer, but also improving the confirmation there’s no cancer, which is also important for patients.”
The new study, co-written by NYU Langone researchers, is one of a number indicating that AI is as effective or better than clinicians at diagnosing disease.
Previously, researchers in Chicago found that AI could detect lung cancer in chest scans earlier than doctors did. Similarly, a study in London found the technology was better than doctors at detecting breast cancer from mammograms, which are images of the breast produced using low-energy X-rays.
Although the new research indicates that AI may be more accurate than radiologists, it is not ready to replace them.
The study involved analysing ultrasound images and patient data from New York alone, so the method needs to be tested elsewhere.
The researchers are looking to collaborate with hospitals in other countries, including the UAE, to enable them to test the neural network’s performance with data from additional patient groups. They would also like to test the AI with other diagnostic methods, such as mammograms.
“We’re definitely interested in transferring it to the clinic, but this would involve clinical trials; I think this needs a bit more time,” said Dr Shamout.
In a project being run in collaboration with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, Dr Shamout is also using AI to predict urinary tract infections, which could allow the use of antibiotics to be more targeted at patients who really need them.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
Recycle Reuse Repurpose
New central waste facility on site at expo Dubai South area to handle estimated 173 tonne of waste generated daily by millions of visitors
Recyclables such as plastic, paper, glass will be collected from bins on the expo site and taken to the new expo Central Waste Facility on site
Organic waste will be processed at the new onsite Central Waste Facility, treated and converted into compost to be re-used to green the expo area
Of 173 tonnes of waste daily, an estimated 39 per cent will be recyclables, 48 per cent organic waste and 13 per cent general waste.
About 147 tonnes will be recycled and converted to new products at another existing facility in Ras Al Khor
Recycling at Ras Al Khor unit:
Plastic items to be converted to plastic bags and recycled
Paper pulp moulded products such as cup carriers, egg trays, seed pots, and food packaging trays
Glass waste into bowls, lights, candle holders, serving trays and coasters
Aim is for 85 per cent of waste from the site to be diverted from landfill
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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