Study AI: 'I believe we could see the end of cancer in our lifetime'

PhD research student Sam Cooper, from Imperial College London, explains how artificial intelligence is helping to improve the way we treat cancer

Examining images and data is time-consuming and relies on the judgement and skills of highly specialised experts. Here, artificial intelligence (AI) - or deep learning - can save vast amounts of time and give much more accurate results. We're using deep learning to try and improve cancer diagnosis, as well as accelerate the search for new drugs against cancer.

Using AI, a system can look at a tumour biopsy and diagnose what type it is. Algorithms generally give a more accurate diagnosis, as they are unbiased and can pick up on subtle features that are often really difficult to spot with the human eye. As well as exploring how AI can be used in diagnosis, we're also using it to speed up the search for new treatments. When trying to find new drugs, researchers typically must process and search thousands of images, which can take months of work. With these new techniques, we will potentially be able to get results in a day or two.