Development of artificial intelligence to help pathological diagnosis - Japan Pathology AI Diagnostics (JP-AID) project

Abstract

Unfortunately, many societies are ageing rapidly and the numbers of patients suffering from lifestyle or age induced conditions like cardiovascular disease or cancer is increasing. This places a huge burden on the field of pathology. In Japan, the healthcare system is being stretched even further as the percentage of doctors who specialise in pathology has dropped. In addition, the job of the pathologist is difficult. It requires a vast body of knowledge as to what any one condition might look like in a tissue sample or what effects it may have on levels of proteins and cells. They are taxed even further because there is usually no straightforward answer to these questions - each patient will present symptoms or 'pathologies' that are unique to them and which look slightly different from the textbook cases. Training and hiring will not address the growing demand and so, like many areas of healthcare, pathology is turning to AI. In many cases, AI technology in medical imaging is now being developed by commercial enterprises and entrepreneurial companies. Our JP-AID project however, has a great leg-up in insider knowledge. Our members consist mostly of expert pathologists and engineers working at universities and national institutes, not as employees in commercial enterprises, therefore we know the realities, the difficulties, the needs and demands of frontline pathologists in detail. This knowledge is invaluable when it comes to designing an AI diagnostic technology that can be used on a large scale. Our key objective is not only to develop, but also to utilise AI technology, and no one can utilise AI on a large scale because they don't recognise the infrastructure for the active reinforcement of AI. We create pathology AI as well as a tele-pathology network that can not only connect hospitals but also serve as a source for AI training materials and provide an existing infrastructure to disseminate the benefits of JP-AID.