Can AI Improve Efficiency and Equity in Cervical Cancer Screening?
January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and although there is optimism that eliminating cervical cancer as a public health threat is possible in the coming decades, there is still work to be done. This week’s Domain Knowledge highlights how healthcare AI is improving the quality and accessibility of cervical cancer screening.
Automated visual evaluation (AVE) is a new AI-based approach that turns any smartphone or digital camera into a fast, easy, and accurate screening tool for cervical cancer. This is especially useful in parts of the world where Pap smears and HPV testing are less common.
A new development is AI used to replace traditional Pap smear analysis. The physician conducts the Pap smear, as usual, then a tool like PapsAI quickly scans the Pap smear slides. Using AI provides faster results than human analysis, enabling more women to get screened and it’s less expensive than the typical microscope used in Pap smears – making it a great option in resource-limited areas.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has launched a Cervical Cancer Image Bank to further accelerate the development and eventual application of AI screening tools like AVE and PapsAI.
Improving the efficiency of cervical cancer screening methods is helping to close the gap in women’s healthcare equity. Access to early detection screening tools is greatly improving in low-resource settings, which results in significantly reduced death rates in these areas.
That’s a wrap for this week’s review of news and happenings in the healthcare AI space. In closing, I’ll leave you with an invitation to learn more about the benefits of using an AI Hub to manage multiple applications across your clinical needs and offer you a personal demo of Ferrum’s platform and growing AI catalog.
If you have AI tips, suggestions, or resources you’d like to share leave us a note below, and please feel free to suggest topics you would like to see covered in future posts.
Alex Uy
Alex is a recent UC San Diego graduate with a degree in economics and communications. His focus is digital marketing, and he has a passion for technology driven healthcare solutions.