Vysioneer, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Endeavor to Make Artificial Intelligence Accessible for Precision Radiation Therapy
A new way to rapidly develop, validate and strategically integrate deep-learning technology into every aspect of radiation therapy for patients is now in the beginning stages at a Louisiana-based cancer care organization.
Vysioneer and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center, a regional cancer care organization headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., have launched an ambitious multi-year collaboration that will transform the practice of this highly-utilized form of cancer treatment.
The first stage of collaboration aims to develop tumor auto-contouring solutions for most common tumor types treated by radiotherapy such as brain, prostate and head and neck cancers to expedite treatment times, and improve accuracy and efficiency of treatments. Vysioneer’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) solution development will be fueled by the clinical expertise and data from Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. The output will be seamlessly deployed into the existing clinical workflows throughout all of the organizations’ locations in southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi, playing the key role as a second set of eyes and hands for medical professionals.
“We are committed to leveraging artificial intelligence to realize precision medicine that delivers clinical benefits to cancer patients and support clinicians,” said Jen-Tang Lu, founder and chief executive officer, Vysioneer. “Through this collaboration, Vysioneer and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center will bring the field of radiation oncology to a sweeping step forward with the power of advanced deep-learning techniques and cloud platforms. Our partnership could truly impact cancer care on a global scale.”
As Vysioneer continues to expand AI offerings across all stages of the cancer patient journey, the associated applications built on big data and analytics will have the potential to achieve next-generation radiotherapy from process automation and treatment outcome predictions to personalized therapies. These are all tools that enable clinicians to make more informed treatment decisions.
Once these deep-learning applications are developed and deployed, physicians and patients will benefit from more personalized and efficient radiation therapy. Medical professionals will also shift their attention from time-consuming and arduous treatment planning procedures to direct patient care.
“One of the key elements in helping us launch this AI initiative is data from Gamma Knife Icon treatments, a sophisticated technology for treating cancerous and non-cancerous tumors, as well as other neurological disorders,” said Jonas Fontenot, Ph.D., chief operating officer and chief of medical physics, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “This rich data set will add to the information collected from across our network to build better and more sophisticated clinical decision support tools, advancing our mission through this partnership with Vysioneer.”
Both parties agree that clinical breakthroughs using AI comes when the medical community and machine learning experts collaborate closely.
“Together, Vysioneer and Mary Bird Perkins will empower us as medical professionals to change the way we practice medicine today and into the future,” said Charles Wood, M.D., medical director of radiation oncology, Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center. “The collective clinical and technical expertise of the organizations will be harnessed to help provide some of the most accurate treatment plans that will provide patients with an enhanced opportunity to fight their disease.”
About Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center is a regional cancer care organization that has been fighting cancer for almost 50 years. The cancer care organization provides care at nine centers in Baton Rouge, Covington, Hammond, Houma, Gonzales, Zachary and Natchez, Mississippi, and its service area encompasses southeast Louisiana and southwest Mississippi regions. For more information, please visit www.marybird.org.