TC, or the computed tomography, is increasingly becoming a screening tool for early diagnosis of lung cancer in people at risk, such as heavy smokers. But in the future, thanks to the use of targeted algorithms, it could also become a tool to assess whether there are “dangerous” plaques, that is, at risk of rupture and consequent blockage of blood circulation, inside the coronary arteries that carry oxygen to the heart. . All thanks to an artificial intelligence system, able to constantly “learn” thanks to the information that is provided and to constantly modify its evaluation algorithm. To make him think is a research appeared on Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging, coordinated by Bob D. de Vos, of the University of Amsterdam.
The presence of calcium deposits inside the vessels, which obviously correlates with a greater risk of atherosclerotic plaques forming and therefore these may, in some cases, rupture, leading to the findings on the cases obtained with CT. a heart attack. Faced with this knowledge, already established, thanks to an artificial intelligence strategy, research has developed a method capable of predicting the risk of death from cardiovascular diseases at five years, starting from the images. In particular, by evaluating the information relating to just under 4,500 people undergoing low-dose CT for lung screening, pathways have been developed that allow the evaluation of six different types of calcium deposits. Then this rating scale was used on over a thousand people, crossing through the artificial intelligence the quantity and position of calcifications, in the coronary arteries and in the aorta. By combining this information with that of the classic risk measurement scales, an important result was obtained in terms of defining the future risk.
Mammography will tell if there is an increased risk of heart attack
According to the authors of the study, however, it must be considered that the possible use of the “intelligent” algorithm does not create overloads of work or waste of time. The method uses only the information on the image, is completely automatic and is fast enough to have results on the “score” of the football in half a second. Therefore it can be applied in terms of screening. Regardless of the investigation, there is no doubt that the “Calcium Score”, That is the radiological definition of calcium deposited on the arteries, will be increasingly important in defining cardiovascular risks. Even for those who have passed Covid-19. “The low-dose CT performed as a screening for lung cancer does not directly see the lumen of the arteries, and therefore any haemodynamically significant plaques and stenosis, because it is performed without contrast; what he recognizes very well are the calcifications of the coronary walls, constantly associated with the presence of atherosclerotic plaques – he explains Paolo Fonio, Professor of Radiology at the University of Turin and Director of University Radiology at the University Hospital of the City of Health and Science of Turin. I think that the algorithm is able to link the presence of arterial calcifications, which are indicative of the presence of atherosclerotic plaques, with the risk of acute coronary syndrome and therefore of myocardial infarction. Our group with the cardiologists of the Molinette hospital is also conducting a study on the so-called “Calcium Score”, in patients who perform chest CT without contrast medium not for neoplastic screening but for Covid-19 infection “.
.