AI speeds up radiation treatment for cancer patients
To prepare the radiation plan for a rectal cancer patient, physician Chen Bo used to spend more than an hour studying a CT scan image and manually determining the targeted area.
Now, with the help of the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the whole process takes him less than three minutes.
At the Cancer Hospital of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, a new AI-powered computer programme has helped doctors cut hours from the meticulous manual process of targeting radiation treatment. The new programme, developed by the Beijing-based cancer hospital and Shenzhen Haichuang medical company, uses deep-learning technology to predict patterns from previous samples and automatically produces plans for radiotherapy. The programme, which was put into clinical use in June, can now be used for rectal, breast and nasopharynx cancer. As the program improves, it is expected to be used for more types of cancer in the future. Using the new programme, a physician can save about three hours to plan the radiation treatment for nasopharynx cancer, and about 50 minutes for breast cancer, according to Chen.
“By providing high-quality and precise radiotherapy services, the programme can meet the demand of a larger number of cancer patients,” said Li Yexiong, director of the radiotherapy department in the cancer hospital.
“Our department received more than 6300 patients last year and many doctors were over-worked,” said Li.
“The programme can save them a lot of time and energy so that they can provide better services to patients.”
China Daily