Baptist testing AI algorithm with knack for detecting lung cancer
Dr. Ray Osarogiagbon, chief scientist at Baptist Memorial Health Care and director of the cancer center’s thoracic oncology research group, is working with an an AI tool called Sybil to analyze low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scans to detect future lung cancer risk. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
With only one scan, an AI tool called Sybil detects who will develop lung cancer five or six years down the road, with more than 90% accuracy.
One of the reasons the research is important in the Mid-South is that the incidence of histoplasmosis spots on lungs is high for people who live on the Mississippi River corridor.
Doctors don’t know if they are cancerous or benign unless they follow them for years, which requires more scans or biopsies.
If the algorithm can accurately predict who is going to develop lung cancer, doctors can stop worrying so much about the people not likely to develop lung cancer “and focus on this other group, irrespective of whether they currently have a spot on their lungs,” Osarogiagbon said.
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Sybil Dr. Raymond Osarogiagbon Baptist Cancer Center Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Jane Roberts
Longtime journalist Jane Roberts is a Minnesotan by birth and a Memphian by choice. She's lived and reported in the city more than two decades. She covers business news and features for The Daily Memphian.
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