AI achieves near-human accuracy in diagnosing cancer

New research suggests that computer models could help doctors achieve greater accuracy in the diagnosis of cancer and other diseases. A research team from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School (HMS) have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) system which is able to train computers to analyse pathologic image data [PDF]. The scientists hope that the programme could one day aid in diagnosing disease. 'Our AI method is based on deep learning, a machine-learning algorithm used for a range of applications including speech recognition and image recognition,' explained Andrew Beck, director of bioinformatics at the Cancer Research Institute at BIDMC and associate professor at HMS. He added: 'This approach teaches machines to interpret the complex patterns and structure observed in real-life data by building multi-layer artificial neural networks, in a process which is thought to show similarities with the learning process that occurs in layers of neurons in the brain's neocortex, the region where thinking occurs.'