Drawing in the organs of individual breast cancer patients and then creating precise radiation treatment plans can be much faster by using artificial intelligence models. It is just as reliable and accurate with AI. “And the time gained is crucial for the long term,” says researcher Nienke Bakx.
She conducted research at the Catharina Hospital in recent years. On Thursday, she received her doctorate from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). Thanks to the newly developed AI models, the mapping of tumors and surrounding organs for breast cancer patients can be done largely automatically. Until two years ago, this was done with “old-fashioned” manual work.
Once the anatomy of the individual patient was imaged, the radiation plan – how best to administer radiation to destroy cancer cells while sparing healthy organs? – could be created. This, too, was done manually.
Half an hour
After a successful pilot, it was put into practice in May 2022. With the proviso, of course, the radiotherapists and lab technicians check everything, make any necessary adjustments, and give their approval. Bakx: “The greatest time savings are seen in the automatic drawing of the organs, about sixty percent of the time. For drawing in the tumor about forty percent. If you express it in minutes, it saves half an hour per patient.”
In addition to drawing in tumors and organs, AI models can also be used to create the radiation plan itself. Here, too, the use of artificial intelligence proved successful: in 74 percent of cases, the AI model was able to create a radiation plan that was immediately usable. With minor adjustments, this percentage increased to 86 percent.
Work pressure
“Healthcare in the Netherlands is under pressure due to an aging population, the increasing number of cancer patients, and staff shortages, judges Bakx. “Eindhoven is in a good position. Thanks to the medical imaging and radiotherapy study at Fontys, but at many hospitals, you see vacancies that are not being filled. So it is desperately necessary that we do something about this because otherwise the work pressure will become too great.”
She knows how to interpret the current times nicely. “What is happening now with AI: we need more people to develop these kinds of models, but in the long run we need fewer medical people as a result. I see this period and all the work we are doing in it as investing in a sustainable healthcare solution.” The success of AI models in breast cancer has led to expansion into such areas as esophageal and lung cancer.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Chaitali Sengupta. She also gives online INBURGERING classes.
