How Using AI May Increase The Precision Of Radiotherapy
The purpose of a modern radiotherapy centre like ours is somewhat different from those established long ago, when the technology involved and the medical understanding of it were in their infancy.
Radiotherapy has been used therapeutically since the turn of the 20th century. But in the early years, it was only able to have a palliative effect on patients with a terminal cancer diagnosis. Although it can still be used this way, extending life in the process, it now offers many more possibilities, including the promise of a full recovery for many.
Advances in treatment have been partly aided by increasing understanding of radiation and its effects on the human body, as well as the capacity to deliver radiation in ever more precise ways.
The Benefits Of Stereotactic Radiotherapy
The most precise form of radiation delivery is known as stereotactic radiotherapy, which uses very concentrated beams of radiotherapy to target tumours while minimising exposure to surrounding tissue. It is commonly used in areas where precise aim is of particular importance, such as the brain, lungs or spinal cord.
That has been possible both through the development of new technology, with Gamma Knife being a prime case in point, as well as scanning technology to identify exactly where precise beams of radiation can be aimed.
Not only does this raise the prospect of treating the cancer more effectively, especially when it is a primary cancer that can be targeted in one specific location, but the lack of exposure of the surrounding tissue and reduced number of appointments required to deliver the required dosage can both minimise the side-effects and maximise the impact of the treatment.
For this reason, we have invested in the latest and most precise equipment to provide patients with radiotherapy. In the future, we will continue to do so as new innovations emerge.
Amethyst & AI In Radiotherapy Treatment
At Amethyst Healthcare Group, we already use AI in radiotherapy planning and tumour contouring.
Out of the three stages (planning, contouring and treatment delivery), AI currently supports the first two, while dose distribution is earlier in integration but progressing. In image analysis, AI can match or exceed human performance in spotting early signs of cancer, as we expand diagnostics, we will integrate these tools to strengthen prevention.
How AI Innovation Could Help Cancer Patients
Among the areas of great potential at present is artificial intelligence (AI). While the wider impact of AI on society and economies has been widely debated, the evidence is that it can bring some significant medical benefits.
The latest instance of this is research produced by the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, published in Digital Medicine. Experts at the institute have developed a new multi-modal deep learning model that can improve decision-making over the delivery of precision radiation.
Focusing on cervical cancer, this research set out to tackle the problem that while 70 per cent of patients can be successfully treated and cancer-free, the rest suffer metastasis (where cancer spreads into other parts of the body) and therefore face a worse prognosis and the prospect of extensive further treatment.
Machine Learning May Solve Treatment Dilemma
Although more intense treatment can reduce the risk of metastasis, this will produce more toxicity and the side effects that come with it. However, the researchers found, the AI innovation has made it possible to judge more precisely exactly where radiation should be directed, meaning less treatment is required to achieve optimal outcomes.
Known as CerviPro and using CT technology to assess patients and make judgments, it has been tested on 1,018 patients in Chinese hospitals, with very promising results. In particular, it proved very effective at distinguishing between high and low-risk patients when it came to the likelihood of metastasis.
This development is not, in itself, an innovation that can deliver stereotactic radiation with greater precision than existing devices. What it is, however, is a means of assisting in decision-making that can help achieve a better balance between maximising treatment to tackle cancer and minimising the side effects.
Why Side Effects Should Be Minimised Where Possible
Anyone who has had some radiotherapy already will be familiar with common side effects, such as fatigue, hair loss, skin problems, digestive issues, and, occasionally, reduced immunity caused by a low red blood cell count.
None of these are permanent issues, of course; for example, your hair will grow back after treatment and your appetite will return to normal. Nonetheless, the course of treatment will be easier for patients if the radiation exposure and its side effects are minimised.
Looking To The Future
The use of AI in the Shenzhen research may be just one of many innovations to come from that quarter that will help enable even more precise and well-calibrated delivery of radiotherapy. Alongside this may come yet greater precision tools for delivering beams of radiation.
Some of this will be for the future and therefore not be of benefit to patients in the present. However, we have always sought to acquire and use the most advanced equipment currently available and the best possible techniques associated with it to offer the best treatment to cancer patients.
Indeed, while AI may be the technology of tomorrow, many of the devices and methods we use today were once in that same category.
Learn more about our advanced radiotherapy treatments for different cancers on the Amethyst Group website.
