Google’s AI system better than humans at spotting lung cancer: Study

Scientists at Google have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model which they claim is better at diagnosing lung cancer than human experts, an advance that could lead to earlier treatments for the deadly disease.

Deep learning — a form of AI — was able to detect malignant lung nodules on low-dose chest computed tomography (LDCT) scans with a performance meeting or exceeding that of expert radiologists, researchers said.

The system, described in the journal Nature Medicine, provides an automated image evaluation system to enhance the accuracy of early lung cancer diagnosis that could lead to earlier treatment.

The deep-learning system was compared against radiologists on LDCTs for patients, some of whom had biopsy confirmed cancer within a year. In most comparisons, the model performed at or better than radiologists.