Donini and Calvano: “An important opportunity resulting from cooperation between European Regions. Timely oncological diagnosis is crucial to saving lives”
The project arises from a positive path of European territorial cooperation between Emilia-Romagna and Catalonia, sanctioned by the agreement signed in 2022 in Bologna, at the headquarters of the Region, by the president Stefano Bonaccini and the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Pere Aragonès the Garcias
March 18, 2024 – Un artificial intelligence software to make it more effective and efficient early diagnosis of lung cancer.
Is called “Deep Lung” and it is a program based on algorithms in Deep Learning developed by fondazione catalana Eurecat to monitor, based on Lung CT scans carried out on patients, for example those undergoing screening, suspicious nodules and evaluate their changes, in order to detect any malignancy with greater accuracy and in a shorter time, and thus contribute to the timely diagnosis of the tumor.
Thanks to an agreement signed between the Emilia-Romagna Region, the Eurecat Foundation and the Irccs Policlinico di Sant’Orsolathe software will be tested at Bologna and to University Clinic of Barcelona starting next month Juneto determine the impact the program could have on the lung cancer early detection and screening process, resulting in benefits for protecting the health of patients.
The objective, at the end of the experimentation, is to establish a service innovative and freeavailable to all public healthcare facilities in Emilia-Romagna.
The necessary computing capacity will be offered, free of charge, by supercomputer Margheritathat the Region acquired with financing of 3.5 million euros of the Development and Cohesion Fund (FSC), with the aim of enabling Public administrations and at Healthcare companies of the territory to make use of the potential of new technologies.
The agreement between the regional administration, Eurecat and the Irccs Policlinico di Sant’Orsola of Bologna, is the result of an important and positive project of European territorial cooperation between Emilia-Romagna and Catalonia with the progetto “Digital Transformation for Regions – “DT4Regions”, of which Emilia-Romagna is the leaderaimed at creating a European platform for the Regions to enable collective artificial intelligence and Big Data solutions.
A collaboration sanctioned by the agreement signed in 2022 in Bologna, at the regional headquarters, by the president of the region, Stefano Bonacciniand from the president of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Pere Aragonès and Garcia. Thanks to the skills of Emilia-Romagna and the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic, and the commitment of Eurecat, which will provide the software for freeexperimentation will not entail financial charges for Emilia-Romagna.
“Early diagnosis and timely treatment are fundamental in oncology, because they can save lives – underline the councilors for health policies, Raffaele Doniniand to European Cooperation, Paolo Calvano-. From this perspective, artificial intelligence and Big Data analysis can represent a valuable support for diagnostic activities, to make clinical decisions increasingly precise and timely and contribute to improving patient health outcomes. The testing of the ‘Deep Lung’ project – continue the regional councilors – represents an important opportunity for international collaboration to validate an innovative technology capable of increasing the quality of public services provided in the healthcare sector. All this was possible thanks to the skills of the people already present in the Region and in the Sant’Orsola Polyclinic. It is also through cooperation between institutions and research centers, the availability of lots of data in public hands, and the exchange of knowledge and skills, that we can be able to face the new challenges that public health is called upon to face.”
The “Deep Lung” project
The “Deep Lung” project aims to test an innovative software for the early diagnosis of lung cancer that it implements architectures of multiple interconnected artificial intelligence algorithms (Siamese convolutional learning) designed to increase the efficiency and timeliness of lung cancer diagnosis by simplifying the monitoring of suspicious nodules detected through computerized axial tomography (CT) and making the comparison more precise and reliable. The nodule detected via CT scan, in fact, is subjected to control and artificial intelligence analyzes it physical details and potential growth – possible symptom of malignant tumor – so as to speed up a possible diagnosis. The experiment, one of the most complex in terms of artificial intelligence ever carried out in Italy in the healthcare field, aims in the coming months to understand how the many neural networks that make up the software are able to learn, gradually supporting increasingly accurate radiologists and oncologists between the two shores of the Mediterranean.
The project is the result of collaboration between the Directorates General for Resources, Europe, Institutions and Innovation and Personal Care, Health and Welfare of the Emilia-Romagna Region, of the Irccs Policlinico di Sant’Orsola, which will carry out the experimentation using the wealth of data and lung scans which the regional public health has at its disposal, and the Eurecat Foundation, which developed and will provide the software. The agreement that kicks off the experiment was signed by the general director of Resources, Europe, innovation and institutions of the Emilia-Romagna Region, Francesco Raphael Frierithe general director of personal care, health and welfare, Luca Baldinothe general director of the Irccs Policlinico di Sant’Orsola, Chiara Gibertonie Xavier López LujánEurecat corporate and operations general director.
The Eurecat Foundation
Eurecat – Technological Center of Catalonia is a private non-profit foundation whose objective is to effectively contribute to improving the competitiveness and technological and sustainable development of businesses and the well-being of citizens and society. The Foundation is the leader of the Innovation Center in Data Technologies and Artificial Intelligence – CIDAI, which promotes innovation based on Ai and Big data in Catalonia.