AI and cancer care explored in Cleveland

Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and smart computing are all rapidly transforming the global health and medical landscape, including at Case Western Reserve University and among its health-care partners in Northeast Ohio and beyond.

To that end, Case Western Reserve is hosting the Oct. 24 conference "Artificial Intelligence in Oncology: Advancements and Policy" at the Tinkham Veale University Center, a symposium expected to draw some of the top minds in the field, said Anant Madabhushi, the F. Alex Nason Professor II of Biomedical Engineering at the Case School of Engineering. The event is hosted by CWRU's Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.

"This is a great opportunity for Cleveland to show off its muscle—to showcase to the world the world-class innovation and advancements in the use of AI in Oncology (AIO) at Case Western Reserve and in Cleveland," said Madabhushi, who helped organize the conference. "There is a unique medical enterprise and ecosystem and collaborative milieu here that has allowed innovation in the AI space that is quite unprecedented."

Madabhushi's research team at the Center for Computational Imaging and Personalized Diagnostics is closing in on increasingly accurate and timely methods to not only diagnose cancers from vast numbers of digital images of tissue samples and radiographic images such as CT and MRI scans, but to determine just who will benefit from chemotherapy or other therapies—and who would not.

Madabhushi said the AIO symposium will bring together experts in AI and machine learning as well as clinical, industry and federal agency experts in pathology, radiology, oncology and immuno-oncology to speak on research developments, regulatory policy, reimbursement and ethics surrounding AI.

Madabhushi and Pamela Davis, dean of the School of Medicine and senior vice president of Medical Affairs, will open the symposium, following remarks from Case Western Reserve President Barbara R. Snyder.

The all-day symposium will feature panel discussions and international scientists providing their perspectives on how analytics can impact radiology, pathology and radiomics in precision medicine approaches to characterize tumors and predict therapies, Madabhushi said.

Provided by Case Western Reserve University