A consortium consisting of artificial intelligence (AI) software developer Optellum and hospitals in the U.K., Netherlands, and Germany will present prototype software for diagnosing lung nodules at this week's International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer World Conference on Lung Cancer in Yokohama, Japan.
Developed by the consortium EIT Health LUCINDA (Early Lung Cancer Diagnosis with Artificial Intelligence and Big Data), the deep learning-based software was designed to improve management and reduce unnecessary follow-up procedures in patients with small, indiscriminate lung nodules on CT scans. After processing a chest CT scan, the software outputs an objective risk score of nodule malignancy based on a database of thousands of examples with known ground-truth diagnoses, according to Optellum. Clinicians can then stratify patients with lung nodules earlier -- potentially on the basis of only one or two CT studies, the company said.
The consortium has received funding from EIT Health, the European Union's initiative aimed at helping to bring healthcare innovation to market. In addition to Optellum, consortium members include: Oxford University Hospital and the University of Oxford in the U.K.; the University Medical Center Groningen in the Netherlands; and Heidelberg University Hospital & ThoraxKlinik Heidelberg in Germany.
