‘Extra pair of eyes’: Chinese University of Hong Kong team says AI helps junior doctors better spot colon tumours in cancer fight
- AI tool especially good at identifying ‘smaller growths which might otherwise go undetected’ and progress to cancer if missed, research team says
- In Chinese University of Hong Kong tests involving 766 patients, junior doctors using AI fared better at spotting smaller growths during colonoscopies
Researchers at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s medical faculty have found that artificial intelligence (AI) can help less experienced doctors better spot tumours during colonoscopies.
AI was especially good at helping them identify smaller growths called adenomas, which might otherwise go undetected, Dr Louis Lau Ho-shing, an assistant professor of medicine and therapeutics, said.
He added the team hoped use of AI would reduce the “miss rate” in spotting such lesions.
In a traditional colonoscopy, an endoscope, a device with a tiny camera, provides video footage for the doctor to examine the patient’s colon, the large intestine.
Lau said traditional colonoscopies required “a high level of multitasking” and doctors who were fatigued or less experienced risked missing smaller lesions.
“If these are missed, there is a chance they can progress to cancer in future,” he said.
Lau added the AI tool acted like “an extra pair of eyes” by identifying potential tumours in the video footage.