QUIBIM uses AI to boost
breast cancer research
As the first ESMO Breast Cancer Congress unfolded 2-4 May in Berlin, Germany, QUIBIM CEO highlighted the role played by artificial intelligence (AI) in breast cancer research.
The European Society of Medical Oncology focused on the progress in treatment options and improved outcomes for breast cancer (BC) patients during its first meeting dedicated to the topic (¹).
One of the key messages of the conference was that therapeutic innovations should go hand in hand with a multidisciplinary, fully integrated approach to patient care, a scenario in which AI can increasingly help make a difference, according to QUIBIM CEO & founder Angel Alberich-Bayarri.
QUIBIM breast cancer structured report
“AI, and in particular image quantification, can help significantly advance knowledge of this multi-faceted disease, by enabling earlier and better detection,” he said.
From the Pacific to the rest of the world
Recently QUIBIM partnered with the AI Precision Health Institute (AI-PHI) at the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center in Honolulu, to manage, store and quantitatively analyze medical images and algorithms in breast cancer research.
Using the QUIBIM Precision® image analysis platform, AI-PHI researchers will create large scale imaging repositories with automated extraction of imaging biomarkers to characterize patients’ status. The solution will first be used as the central repository for the mammography studies conducted in the Pacific and will include mammograms from over 5 million women.
The University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center is one of 69 NCI designated cancer centers in the United States and the only one in Hawai‘i and all of the Pacific Islands. It is the only institution that uses AI to analyze medical images to assess health and predict risk of disease in the region.
The project is expected to grow exponentially as its principal investigator Dr. John Shepherd is keen on inviting selected reference centers all across the world to join the network. “It is a very interesting and pioneering work for QUIBIM, and our first big cooperation in the breast cancer setting,” Alberich said.
Seamless integration into clinical workflow
The QUIBIM Precision® image analysis platform enables to incorporate AI algorithms regardless of the institution where it is deployed, to facilitate integration into workflow.
“Researchers can program their own algorithm and code, and add it as a plugin to the platform. This feature, combined with the advanced storage and multi-user annotation capabilities of the platform, allows for a wide adoption within research groups and institutions working with AI. Time for deployment of algorithms in the real world is shortened by 25%, since you have the whole AI pipeline in just one place,” he explained.
The solution, which includes not only quantitative image analysis but also structured reporting capabilities, can be integrated into the radiology workflow and add value to this service. It can for instance be used to integrate AI algorithms to detect cancer without the need of radiologists in a first-read.
Earlier this year the platform received CE Mark certification as class IIa Medical Device, including the imaging biomarker analysis algorithms, the zero footprint DICOM viewer and the platform hosting these components and medical imaging data. The platform is now available for commercial deployment in European hospitals and diagnostic imaging centers.
In addition to the platform, the certification includes 15 algorithms in the five key areas of interest of the company: oncology, neurology, musculoskeletal, liver and lung.
Also included in the CE Mark certification is the DataMiner, which was designed in collaboration with the team of Prof. Daniel Keim from Konstanz University to provide advanced visual analytics of large databases of patients for population health management and scientific exploitation. The DICOM web viewer that enables the user to visualize the images of a sequence, draw ROIs or apply filters is also included in the certification.
QUIBIM applies machine learning to develop tools for imaging data quantification, to accelerate image reconstruction, segmentation, detection and data mining. Beyond the breast, the company has created AI algorithms to help detect changes produced by brain and prostate cancer, but also other diseases in the hematological scenario such as non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.