Advancing AI in bowel cancer screening
BowelScreen, Ireland’s national bowel screening programme, is taking part in the EU-funded Microb-AI-ome(opens in new window) project that investigates how the AI-driven analysis of gut microbiome data could improve future colorectal cancer screening. The project aims to enhance the early detection of bowel cancer so as to enable more accurate and efficient screening methods across Europe. Bowel cancer poses a significant health and economic challenge, and it is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in Europe. In 2022, there were more than 360 000 new cases of bowel cancer and approximately 161 000 deaths. Each year, the disease costs Europe billions in healthcare and loss of productivity. Colonoscopies are the standard method for detecting the disease and a faecal immunological test is commonly used to assess the need for this procedure. By using AI to enhance early detection, the Microb-AI-ome team aspires to reduce unnecessary colonoscopies and improve patient outcomes. To support these research efforts, BowelScreen is collaborating with Viatel Technology Group in Ireland as its technology partner. The national screening programme has also facilitated the enrolment of patients by three research hospitals in Ireland. These patients are to provide stool samples for microbiome analysis.
Obtaining data, ensuring privacy
For the AI analysis to be effective, a broad and diverse dataset is needed from volunteers taking part in the screening process. To protect participants’ privacy, the Microb-AI-ome platform anonymises all sensitive information and stores it in secure cloud databases. Security and compliance were a crucial factor in the development of the platform, which is fully compliant with Irish legislation and GDPR standards, ensuring ultimate patient confidentiality and data protection. Viatel was responsible for developing the custom cloud-based data management solution to manage the Irish data repository, for which it leveraged Microsoft Azure technology. “The platform we have devised with Viatel will allow us to analyse a huge volume of metadata generated from participants’ stool samples to make it interpretable as a signal to say the person is at risk, or is not at risk,” states BowelScreen Clinical Director Pádraic Mac Mathúna in a news item(opens in new window) posted on the Viatel website. James Finglas, Managing Director of Viatel Digital Services, describes the solution as “game-changing for the potential use of AI in population-based cancer screening.” He goes on to explain: “It analyses millions of data points per patient to identify an individual’s risk of pre-cancer changes or bowel cancer. Consequently, this technology may identify those who need a colonoscopy, creating positive outcomes for patients.” This initiative forming part of the Microb-AI-ome (Federated artificial intelligence for privacy-preserving international stratification of colorectal cancer patients) project highlights AI’s growing potential to shape healthcare innovation of the future. “This is a tremendous example of how AI can be adopted in a real and meaningful way. A lot of people are talking about AI right now, but we’re immensely proud to be effecting change in our work to get the most out of Microsoft’s AI solutions,” Finglas concludes. For more information, please see: Microb-AI-ome project website(opens in new window)