BBS has recently published a very uplifting update regarding breast cancer detection with the help of AI.
Breast cancer is one of the most common and deadly diseases in women, which can also affect men. Early detection can increase the chances of recovery. Although mammography, ultrasound, and MRI are the primary methods of breast cancer diagnosis, their disadvantage is that they are not easily accessible in rural and remote areas.
Thermal imaging, also known as thermography, is a non-invasive imaging technique that uses IR technology to detect changes in temperature on the surface of the skin. Most of the recent studies say thermography could only be a supplementary tool for mammography because it is limited by a number of factors, such as the variability of temperature changes in the breast tissue and the difficulty of distinguishing benign from malignant tumors or identifying small and deep tumors that have a weak surface signature. Nonetheless, technology is continuously improving, and we hope that companies like Niramai (who recently got their US FDA clearance) will develop precise and portable tools for everyone’s benefit.
Thanks to Levente Göncz for his input!
