Artificial Intelligence in Cancer: How Is It Used in Practice? - Cancer Therapy Advisor

Artificial intelligence (AI) comprises a type of computer science that develops entities, such as software programs, that can intelligently perform tasks or make decisions.1 The development and use of AI in health care is not new; the first ideas that created the foundation of AI were documented in 1956, and automated clinical tools that were developed between the 1970s and 1990s are now in routine use. These tools, such as the automated interpretation of electrocardiograms, may seem simple, but are considered AI. Today, AI is being harnessed to help with "big" problems in medicine -- such as processing and interpreting large amounts of data in research and in clinical settings, including reading imaging or results from broad genetic-testing panels.1 In oncology, AI is not yet being used broadly, but its use is being studied in several areas.