Google licenses artificial intelligence that detects breast cancer

On Monday (28), Google announced that its artificial intelligence (AI) breast cancer screening tool has been licensed to medical technology company iCAD. This is the first time the company has licensed the technology.

The partnership between the companies aims to soon train artificial intelligence to identify disease that medical centers can use, making exam analysis easier and more reliable.

According to data from the Cancer Foundation, there were 66,280 new cases of breast cancer in Brazil in 2020. This type of cancer is common in women, but men can also get the disease.

Although there is still no deadline for the technology’s rollout in medical clinics, iCAD operates worldwide, raising the possibility that artificial intelligence specializing in breast cancer detection could also be made available in Brazil.

Currently, there is no specific test to diagnose breast cancer. But despite the various possibilities, none is immune to misinterpretation.

In research published in the journal Nature in 2020, cancer screening technology achieved a satisfactory detection average, if not infallible.

In addition, it provides a 9.4% reduction in the analysis of false negatives and a 5.7% reduction in false positives during the tests, demonstrating the reliability of the results.

As part of the new partnership, iCAD already has plans for using AI in the analysis of 3D mammograms.

To analyze abnormalities in breast tissue that could indicate the presence of cancer, iCAD hopes the scan will be more agile, reliable, and show warning signs for prevention and follow-up.

It is the desire of both companies to bring this technology to market, which includes another useful and effective tool in the fight against breast cancer.