How A.I. Is Used to Detect Cancer That Doctors Miss

Hungary has become a major testing ground for AI. software to detect cancer, as doctors wonder if technology will replace them in medical jobs.

In a dark room at Bács County Hospital- Kiskun outside Budapest, Dr. Éva Ambrózay, a radiologist with more than two decades of experience, looked at a computer screen showing a patient's mammogram.

Two radiologists had previously stated that the x-ray showed no signs that the patient had breast cancer. But Dr. Ambrózay was closely examining several areas of the scan circled in red, which the artificial intelligence software had flagged as potentially cancerous.

"It's something thing," she said. She quickly ordered that the woman be called back for a biopsy, which will take place within the next week.

Advances in A.I. are beginning to make breakthroughs in breast cancer screening by detecting the signs that doctors miss. So far, the technology is showing an impressive ability to detect cancer at least as well as human radiologists, according to early results and radiologists, in what is one of the most tangible signs yet of how which A.I. can improve public health.

Hungary, which has a strong breast cancer screening program, is one of the largest fields of testing the technology on real patients. At five hospitals and clinics that perform more than 35,000 screenings a year, A.I. systems have been deployed starting in 2021 and now can look for signs of cancer that a radiologist might have overlooked. Clinics and hospitals in the United States, Britain and the European Union are also beginning to test or provide data to help develop the systems.

A.I. usage is growing as the technology has become the center of a Silicon Valley boom, with the release of chatbots like ChatGPT showing how A.I. has a remarkable ability to communicate in human-like prose – sometimes with disturbing results. Built from a similar form used by chatbots that is modeled after the human brain, breast cancer screening technology shows other ways A.I. is seeping into daily life.

ImageDr. Éva Ambrózay, a radiologist at Bács-Kiskun County Hospital with more than two decades of experience, uses AI. software to help look for signs of cancer that doctors may have missed.Credit...Akos Stiller for The New York Times hedges, doctors and A.I. said the developers. Further clinical trials are needed before the systems can be more widely adopted as a second or third automated reader of breast cancer screenings, beyond the limited number of places currently using the technology. The tool must also show that it can produce accurate results on women of all ages, ethnicities, and body types. And the technology needs to prove it can recognize more complex forms of breast cancer and reduce false positives that aren't cancerous, radiologists said.

L 'A.I. The tools have also sparked debate over whether they will replace human radiologists, with makers of the technology facing regulatory scrutiny and resistance from some doctors and healthcare institutions. For now, those fears seem overblown, with many experts saying the technology will be effective and...