AI-aided breast cancer diagnosis in 5 hospitals

MUSCAT, MARCH 19 – A new system for the early diagnosis of breast cancer will be introduced in five hospitals across the Sultanate. The Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Information Technology Authority (ITA) have announced the launch of the facility after a successful pilot project done by the MoH, ITA, Microsoft and ScreenPoint to employ Artificial Intelligence (AI) in diagnosing breast cancer, scoring 96 per cent success rate. The ministry will introduce the system in the Royal, Khoula, Al Buraimi and Ibra hospitals besides Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah to study the challenges that might accompany the system and how to overcome them.

It will also facilitate necessary early healthcare for the diagnosed women. The pilot stage of the project, which will last for one year, will measure the efficiency of the system and the possibility of implementing it across the Sultanate hospitals through integration with Al Shifa system and the digital screening system. Dr Ali bin Talib al Hinai, MoH Under-Secretary for Planning Affairs, said: “This project reflects the Ministry of Health’s continuous efforts to improve the quality of healthcare services in Oman by adapting new technologies to diagnose breast cancer in its early stages”.

“The MoH employed AI systematically as we ran a pilot to diagnose the early stages of the disease and comparing them with the traditional ways of doing it. The positive results encouraged us to go forward by applying AI in five hospitals around the Sultanate and keep track with the results closely, and accordingly decide the way forward.” Breast cancer is one of the most common diseases in Oman, representing 24.4 per cent of the total diagnosed cancer cases in the Sultanate. Currently there are more than 200 cases diagnosed every year and it is predicted that the percentage will increase annually to reach 975 cases by 2040.

Statistics show that the number of mammograms, used to diagnose cancer, that five specialists can handle is annually 49,920. It is predicted that when the system is running the number will increase by 9984 annually. Moreover, the treatment costs will decrease significantly from RO 26,000 to RO 3,000, which means saving RO 2.3 million for 100 cases. When the system first kicks off, the number of breast cancer cases will increase into almost 150 additional case, but the numbers will decrease or stay the same after 2-5 years.

Accordingly, MoH and the ITA have conducted a workshop titled ‘employing AI in healthcare sector’ as a side event at COMEX 2019. The workshop showcased the MoH’s experience in using AI to diagnose breast cancer. The event aimed to promote the emerging technologies’ roles in enhancing the strategic sectors and enabling them to achieve their national objectives, as well as highlighting the best practices in employing AI in the health sector and showcasing internationally successful experiences in this regard.

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