St. Peter's Hospital introduces an AI-based cerebral aneurysm risk analysis program
Page information
St. Peter's Hospital 26-08-24 16:02Main content
St. Peter's Hospital (President Yoon, Kangjun), a general hospital specializing in spine, joint, and cerebro-cardiovascular care, announced that it has introduced an artificial intelligence (AI)-based program that analyzes the risk of developing a cerebral aneurysm from health screening results alone, strengthening its system for the early detection of cerebrovascular disease.
Confirming a cerebral aneurysm requires cerebrovascular imaging such as magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) or computed tomography angiography (CTA), but given the cost and the testing resources involved, it is hard to recommend it uniformly to everyone who undergoes health screening. That has led to continued calls for criteria to determine who should have a detailed examination first.
St. Peter's Hospital has therefore introduced ANRISK®, developed by medical artificial intelligence company Talos, which can estimate the risk of developing a cerebral aneurysm from the basic information obtained in a health screening, without separate cerebrovascular imaging. Blood test results such as hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol, measurements such as height, weight, waist circumference and blood pressure, and questionnaire results on family history and smoking are used in the analysis. The results are presented as a score between 0 and 100 and one of five risk groups, together with the factors that influenced the risk, organized in order of their contribution.
Unlike most existing AI technologies for cerebrovascular disease, which assist interpretation by finding abnormalities in images that have already been taken, this program focuses on identifying, before imaging is carried out, the people who need a detailed examination. It is not, however, a technology intended to replace imaging or to make a diagnosis. The analysis results are used as reference material when deciding whether a detailed examination is needed.
SUH, Dae Chul, professor of Neurointervention at St. Peter's Hospital, said, “Cerebral aneurysms usually cause no symptoms before they rupture, so it is hard for patients to notice anything wrong themselves,” adding, “If risk factors such as a family history, hypertension or smoking overlap, it is worth checking the condition of your cerebral blood vessels at least once, even without symptoms.”
What St. Peter's Hospital focused on in adopting ANRISK was the pathway that follows the analysis. Even when a high risk score comes back, early detection means less if it does not lead on to detailed examination and treatment. The hospital operates a 3.0 Tesla MRI and a 640-channel MDCT, so when a patient is identified as high risk, cerebrovascular imaging can be performed on site immediately to confirm whether a cerebral aneurysm is present and, if so, its location and size. If the results indicate that treatment is needed, care continues through collaborative consultation between Interventional Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery specialists, leading to treatment matched to the patient's symptoms.
Yoon, Kangjun, President of St. Peter's Hospital and a Neurosurgery specialist, said, “Because treatment options narrow considerably once a patient comes to hospital after a cerebral aneurysm has ruptured, the process of gauging the risk while there are no symptoms is important,” adding, “With this introduction we have built an in-hospital treatment process so that information identified at the health screening stage leads on to actual examination and treatment.” Dr. Yoon went on to say, “Alongside treating disease, we will continue to strengthen our clinical and treatment capabilities in looking ahead so that illness does not develop in the first place.”
Source: Medworld News (http://www.medworld.co.kr)
Confirming a cerebral aneurysm requires cerebrovascular imaging such as magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) or computed tomography angiography (CTA), but given the cost and the testing resources involved, it is hard to recommend it uniformly to everyone who undergoes health screening. That has led to continued calls for criteria to determine who should have a detailed examination first.
St. Peter's Hospital has therefore introduced ANRISK®, developed by medical artificial intelligence company Talos, which can estimate the risk of developing a cerebral aneurysm from the basic information obtained in a health screening, without separate cerebrovascular imaging. Blood test results such as hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose and total cholesterol, measurements such as height, weight, waist circumference and blood pressure, and questionnaire results on family history and smoking are used in the analysis. The results are presented as a score between 0 and 100 and one of five risk groups, together with the factors that influenced the risk, organized in order of their contribution.
Unlike most existing AI technologies for cerebrovascular disease, which assist interpretation by finding abnormalities in images that have already been taken, this program focuses on identifying, before imaging is carried out, the people who need a detailed examination. It is not, however, a technology intended to replace imaging or to make a diagnosis. The analysis results are used as reference material when deciding whether a detailed examination is needed.
SUH, Dae Chul, professor of Neurointervention at St. Peter's Hospital, said, “Cerebral aneurysms usually cause no symptoms before they rupture, so it is hard for patients to notice anything wrong themselves,” adding, “If risk factors such as a family history, hypertension or smoking overlap, it is worth checking the condition of your cerebral blood vessels at least once, even without symptoms.”
What St. Peter's Hospital focused on in adopting ANRISK was the pathway that follows the analysis. Even when a high risk score comes back, early detection means less if it does not lead on to detailed examination and treatment. The hospital operates a 3.0 Tesla MRI and a 640-channel MDCT, so when a patient is identified as high risk, cerebrovascular imaging can be performed on site immediately to confirm whether a cerebral aneurysm is present and, if so, its location and size. If the results indicate that treatment is needed, care continues through collaborative consultation between Interventional Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery specialists, leading to treatment matched to the patient's symptoms.
Yoon, Kangjun, President of St. Peter's Hospital and a Neurosurgery specialist, said, “Because treatment options narrow considerably once a patient comes to hospital after a cerebral aneurysm has ruptured, the process of gauging the risk while there are no symptoms is important,” adding, “With this introduction we have built an in-hospital treatment process so that information identified at the health screening stage leads on to actual examination and treatment.” Dr. Yoon went on to say, “Alongside treating disease, we will continue to strengthen our clinical and treatment capabilities in looking ahead so that illness does not develop in the first place.”
Source: Medworld News (http://www.medworld.co.kr)