Using AI & MRIs to diagnose Brain Tumours

The period from referral to test result can take up to 10% of the average survival time. 4,753 people were waiting longer than 6 weeks for MRI scan results¹ and Glioblastoma, the most common high-grade brain tumor has an average survival time 12-18 months ²

A Radiologist’s view of Brain Tumors

Brain Tumors are uncontrolled, unnatural growth, and division of brain tissue. They are thankfully not very common but they are one of the most lethal cancers. A Radiologist’s job is to diagnose and analyse these tumors to provide the best treatment plan. Currently, the time from scan results to report can take more than four solid hours ³ and, due to the requirement of highly specialized trained individuals, these are done back-to-back reducing accuracy.

The use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans

The most common diagnostic tool for brain tumors is the MRI due to its non-invasive nature and ability to image diverse tissue types and physiological processes. There is a need for accurate and fully automated methods. Manual segmentation around tumor margins on a slice-by-slice basis can take 12 minutes or more per tumor per sequence, with semi-automatic methods taking 3-5 mins ⁴. Automated segmentation that is not vulnerable to operator subjectivity may be beneficial ⁵.