The article, “This Startup Has Found A Way To Uncover
Bespoke Cancer Therapies” discusses the use of artificial intelligence and
rapid lab tests to discover individualized cancer treatments for patients. This
kind of precision medicine is what has always been desired to be able to treat
cancer more effectively. Genetic sequencing has not been the best at
determining what drugs certain tumors would respond to the best and the drugs
suggested by genetic sequencing have not worked in the past. This kind of
individualized treatment for cancer patients is the future of this field.
I
think that this approach to cancer treatment is very promising because it
tailor’s patient’s cancer treatment to them instead of trying to make the
patient work with any given drug. The use of artificial intelligence to help
determine what drugs could be best for a particular patient and their unique
diagnosis could lead to new ways to treat cancer that have not been used
before. To be able to tailor treatments to individual patients it is necessary
to take cancer tissue samples from the patient and then test different cancer
treatments on the tissue samples in a lab to be able to see what drug will work
best for that patient. Since there are many different micro- experiments that
need to be conducted, to be able to do this quickly a type of artificial
intelligence called computer vision technology is used. This A.I. can classify
the various images to track the experiments and observe how the cells react to
the different drugs.
This A.I. approach called
pharmacoscopy has allowed billions of cells to be analyzed and has produced
promising results. The use of this technology has resulted in new treatments
that have not been traditionally used to combat cancer. When these treatments
were given to some patients, the treatment helped to extend the patient’s life.
This technology is also helping to discover new drugs that can be used.
I think that this use of
artificial intelligence to find new ways to treat a deadly disease like this
will result in new breakthroughs that could lead to innovative medicines that
could help a lot of people. Since this technology allows cells to be analyzed
so quickly and the treatment is tailored to each person, I think that many more
lives will be saved in the future. I think that this could expand the way that
cancer is treated and provide patients with more treatment options that will
work better for them. Also, I think that by using this advanced technology in
the medical field there could be many benefits for patients with cancer but
eventually this A.I. could be used to find medical treatments for a larger
variety of deadly diseases.
Source: https://fortune.com/2021/03/25/allcyte-cancer-treatment-drugs-startup-funding/
Ashleen, I am thrilled to hear that technology can be used in this way in the medical field. It makes me especially excited because I feel like we are getting closer every year to defeating cancer. However, I must admit that it concerns me a little. Every time I hear the words “artificial intelligence”, I’m a little skeptical. That is not to say that AI can’t be useful or that it doesn’t work. Nor do I think it means robots are going to take over, but taking the human out of decision making doesn’t always turn out to give the best results. Especially in this case, when you are dealing with cancer patients. I understand that you mentioned this has proven to be useful for patients, and extended the life of the patients, but did it say anything about what happens if the AI makes a mistake? It’s not like the AI is being used for sports betting. These are people’s lives at risk. Nonetheless, and putting those concerns aside, this really does sound great. I do believe that using artificial intelligence and other forms of predictive analytics is going to reach out into so many different areas of work, just as computers, data, and information systems did, not too long ago. In fact, staying on the topic of medical practices, I wouldn’t be surprised if future medical students are required to learn about technology and AI, at least at a basic level, as part of medical school. I also wouldn’t be surprised if this became a separate sector of the medical field all together, sort of in the same way that twenty or thirty years ago firms started to develop specific IT departments to run their systems. Who knows, maybe two hundred years from now no one will really need to go to the doctor anymore and they can just use AI to receive a diagnosis and prescription.
ReplyDeleteOne other thing I would like to touch upon is the statement you made about how this new AI has resulted in “new treatments that have not been traditionally used to combat cancer”. I’m curious as to how that is even possible. I just don’t understand how a, for lack of a better term, computer can just output new medical treatments. Were these treatments known, just not used, or are they completely made up, brand new, by the computer? I guess I just don’t know enough, or really much at all, about the different types of AI and what is really possible. Matter of fact, for sake of full disclosure, most of what I have heard about AI has come from SI-FI, so I am definitely going to have to do more research about this, and especially now that it is being used in the medical field, and probably other highly important areas. Overall, though I think this is awesome, despite my concerns. I think a bright future awaits, and am glad to hear the medical field is apart of that.
This article is very good and it is great to see it be written. Cancer has obviously been a huge problem around the world, as it can be deadly and has taken millions of innocent lives from us. That being said, our doctors, scientists, and researchers have worked tirelessly and very hard to find a cure. I never really thought of using data to try and find not just a cure for cancer, but better treatments for cancer. I agree that there is no doubt that this is the future of treating cancer, and I think it is a great sign that not only medicine is advancing, but technology is advancing. The fact that we can now use artificial intelligence to try and treat and cure cancer is fascinating and very interesting. I think that it is definitely a step in the right direction for cancer treatment and that this right now could save many lives. On top of that, I think if this starts to work, especially for certain types of cancers, this could be a huge breakthrough for cancer treatment. Say for example, the artificial intelligence is able to work its magic and find the correct and right treatment for a specific type of leukemia. Hospitals can then start to use that type of treatment the AI found on all of their patients, and if it works and is effective, that can result in many people getting the right, effective treatment and possibly getting cured. Another interesting part of the AI is that it can result in discovering new drugs to help with treatment. I think this is another great way the AI can help cancer treatment and cancer cures as new drugs can help treat the cancer and if they are effective enough, they can result in many things that include patients lasting longer, better treatment, and maybe even a cure for certain cancers. Overall, I think this is great news and I think it is going to lead to many great things and hopefully eventually some sort of cure for cancer in the future.
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