TechLab: An AI-based service for early detection of cancer

The main articles are:

• Cancer diagnosis
• Machine Learning
• Artificial Intelligence in Medicine

2023

Finalize Service Development

St. Petersburg has completed the development of a service that will increase the frequency of detection of cancer. The company TechLAB announced this on July 17, 2023.

A digital solution designed to increase the frequency of detection of cancer.

Since the number of detected cases of cancer is growing annually, the burden on non-core medical specialists: therapists, paramedics, general practitioners is increasing. It is important for them to be the first to formulate suspicions of a malignant neoplasm (MNR) based on the symptoms present in the patient. Our service based on data evidence-based medicine algorithms and continuous medicine is called upon to help them in this, - machine learning said the Alexander Shapovalov director of TechLAB.

The basis of the decision was developed several years ago: the "Algorithms for the early detection of cancer," approved by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, served as a scientific basis. As of July 2023, the company's specialists have improved the service by using machine learning algorithms, including the so-called reinforcement training. The development of the solution corresponds to the key initiatives of the federal project "Combating Cancer."

From the user's point of view, the service works as follows: during the collection of history, the doctor notes the patient's complaints in a special electronic questionnaire (it is the service interface that is most similar to it), and if they correspond to a certain set of scientifically proven predictors of the development of a particular type of cancer, the service will offer the doctor to "show alertness" - assign additional studies to this patient. This is the task of the service: to artificially "raise" the group of these diagnoses in the list and draw the attention of a medical specialist to them, and with minimal costs for his time and attention, - described the mechanism of operation of the service Mikhail Kaufman, director of health projects "TechLAB."

Solution Presentation

A service will appear in Russia that will increase the frequency of detection of cancer. This was announced on May 10, 2023 by TechLAB.

Oncological diseases occupy the second place in the mortality structure of the Russian population, however, due to the fact that they are difficult to detect in the early stages, malignant neoplasms become especially insidious. So, if cancer is detected at the fourth stage, then the average five-year survival rate is 10%, while the timely diagnosis of cancer at the first stage and its effective treatment significantly increase this figure - up to 85-90%.

By May 2023, the IT company TechLAB (St. Petersburg) is developing a digital solution that would help general practitioners, paramedics and therapists identify cancer in the early stages.

TechLAB is developing a service using continuous machine learning techniques designed to enrich our existing system for early detection of cancer. This will increase the number of patients who have cancer at an early stage and reduce the costs of the healthcare system for their subsequent treatment, - said Alexander Shapovalov, director of TechLAB.

The expert stressed that such decisions are primarily intended for therapists, paramedics and general practitioners, that is, non-specialists in oncology, who, despite a different professional profile, with the help of the service will be able to suspect a possible cancer as early as possible and order additional diagnostic studies.

The development of the solution corresponds to the key initiatives of the federal project "Combating Cancer": it contributes to improving the quality and life expectancy of the Russian population. A prototype service may appear as early as 2023.