AI-based screening detects five cancer cases in early stages
Panaji:
The AI-driven early detection of lung cancer screening has been carried out across all levels of the public health system for free in Goa since Feb 2024. Over 75,000 chest X-rays have been screened, detecting over 6,000 pulmonary nodules and flagging more than 500 people with high risk for lung cancer.
It also detected five lung cancer cases that would have otherwise gone undetected.
Under the public-private partnership, Goa, in partnership with AstraZeneca and Qure.ai, is the first state in the country to deploy artificial intelligence for lung cancer screening in the public sector. This was presented at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva in May by the state nodal officer for non-communicable disease cell, Dr Kedar Raikar.
The screening currently takes place at 17 public health centres and hospitals. It is integrated with the existing digital X-ray network and conducts chest X-rays, CT scans, and follow-ups. The programme has reduced the wait time for CT scan from 10 days to 2 days for high-risk patients.
The system helps flag potential signs on routine X-rays even when patients come in for completely unrelated issues. Before the system was brought in, 100 to 200 lung cancer cases would be detected over a two-year period. A pink slip is given to high-risk patients to ensure they receive prioritised care quickly.
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