Google DeepMind to apply AI to head and neck cancer treatments

Hospital and Google DeepMind project to speed up cancer diagnosis and treatment plans

Google DeepMind, the London-based artificial intelligence company that the online advertising giant picked up for £400m in January 2014, is to apply its AI technology to the CT and MRI scans of 700 former cancer patients at University College London Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.

The aim is to see whether it is possible to develop an algorithm that can distinguish cancerous tissue from healthy tissue, enabling automatic and more reliable diagnosis. It is also hoped that it will be possible to slash the amount of time it takes to design targeted radiotherapy treatments from four hours to one.

The scans will be anonymised, claims the company.

"At present, it can take clinicians up to four hours to identify and differentiate between cancerous and healthy tissues on CT and MRI scans of head and neck cancer patients. This process, known as segmentation, is particularly difficult in head and neck cancer patients because their tumours are situated in extremely close proximity to healthy structures such as the eyes and nerves," claims the Trust.

"The purpose of the research collaboration between UCLH and DeepMind is to develop artificial intelligence technology to assist clinicians in the segmentation process so that it can be done more rapidly but just as accurately."

Dr Yen-Ching Chang, clinical lead for radiotherapy at UCLH, described it as "very exciting research" that could "revolutionise the way in which we plan radiotherapy treatment".

"Developing machine learning that can automatically differentiate between cancerous and healthy tissue on radiotherapy scans will assist clinicians in planning radiotherapy treatment. This has the potential to free up clinicians to spend more time on patient care, education and research, all of which would be to the benefit of our patients and the populations we serve," she said.

The project follows an agreement between Google DeepMind and the Royal Free NHS Trust, revealed earlier this year, which gave the company access to 1.6 million NHS patient records.

That deal was met with circumspection due to the wide-ranging nature of the access to the records; the promises of anonymisation, which is rarely as anonymous as proponents claim; and the connection with Google. The hospital eventually offered patients an opt-out.