Researchers from the Institute of Systems and Computer Engineering, Technology and Science (INESC TEC) are leading the project, which uses artificial intelligence to personalize care, optimize human resources, and reduce the cost and time of diagnosing lung diseases.
In a statement, the Porto Institute specifies this Friday that the AI4Lungs project will, over the next three and a half years, develop tools and computational models to optimize patient categorization, improve diagnosis and treatment.
The project arises as a response to problems associated with the spread of respiratory diseases associated with cancer, interstitial diseases and inflammatory conditions.
By developing new tools based on data collected from lung auscultation, x-rays, computed tomography scans and clinical tests, the project will “support clinicians during the diagnosis and treatment of a patient to try to guide them through the process.” .
INESC TEC researcher Helder Oliveira, quoted in the statement, emphasizes that this is “a project aimed at the lungs in general.”
“The idea is that from the moment a patient makes an appointment, the system will be able to support the entire stratification process, understand what kind of disease it is and whether additional tests are needed to diagnose it,” the researcher adds.
The project will develop technologies to improve devices used in diagnostics and integrate new tools into a single platform for monitoring clinical decisions, making the process “faster and less tedious.”
“This platform will have access to data from the project hospitals and will replicate the entire clinical process in parallel, offering recommendations to doctors without interfering with normal clinical practice,” says researcher Duarte Diaz from INESC TEC, also quoted in the statement.
The project also intends to use two technologies: digital auscultation, carried out at INESC TEC, and liquid biopsy at the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health (i3S), which is also part of the project.
“Liquid biopsy is almost always used for more advanced cancers, and we want to introduce it to the front lines of the fight to understand the type of cancer, rather than choosing dozens of tests,” adds Helder Oliveira.
The project will carry out two pilots, one of which will be at the Hospital Center of Vila Nova de Gaia/Espinho (CHVNGE), an institution that already works with liquid biopsies and where the surgical decision support platform will be tested.
Another prototype will be tested at the Rabin Medical Center in Israel.
The project, funded with €6.9 million, involves more than 17 partners.