Breast cancer poses significant global health challenges for women, with increasing incidence and mortality rates. Access to mammography screening and diagnosis remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. This retrospective study evaluated a breast cancer pre-screening solution (BCPS) using a commercially available smartphone with a thermal imaging sensor powered by artificial intelligence. The study aimed to assess the BCPS tool’s performance compared to mammography, the established gold standard for initial breast cancer screening.
Conducted at the Erebouni Medical Center Breast Unit in Armenia over six months, the evaluation involved 478 women, 45 of whom were diagnosed with breast cancer post-biopsy. Participants underwent screening with the BCPS before standard breast screening. Mammography results confirmed malignancy, serving as ground truth for comparison with BCPS AI results.
When combined with patient-reported or clinical symptoms, the BCPS tool achieved 89% sensitivity and 83% specificity compared to mammography. Without clinical or patient-reported symptoms, sensitivity decreased to 60%, while specificity increased to 88.2%.
This study demonstrates that the BCPS tool, leveraging a smartphone-based thermal imaging sensor and AI, aids early breast cancer detection, particularly where mammography is inaccessible. This is not just a technological advancement, but a beacon of hope for low- and middle-income countries, offering a pre-screening option for women who avoid mammography due to various reasons. Further research is warranted to validate these findings and explore additional applications, such as detecting pathological lymph nodes and comparing BCPS with other screening modalities like POCT, MRI, and CEM.
More information: Nerses Berberian et al, Evaluation of an AI-powered Portable Thermal Imaging Solution as a Pre-screening Tool for Breast Cancer, Cancer Screening and Prevention. DOI: 10.14218/CSP.2023.00034S
Journal information: Cancer Screening and Prevention Provided by Xia & He Publishing Inc.
