Spain-based imaging data software provider, Quilbim has come together with Phillips to provide AI-based imaging and reporting solutions for magnetic resonance (MR) prostate examinations.
The partnership will see both companies leveraging each other’s technology and software to detect conditions like cancer early and to improve the rate of accurate first-time diagnosis. They hope to achieve this streamlined diagnosing by using both Philips’ high-speed MR imaging and Quibim’s QP-Prostate software.
Ruud Zwerink, General Manager of MR at Philips said: “The collaboration with Quibim will ultimately be extended to address other forms of cancer beyond prostate, where there is a need to improve efficiency and mitigate staff shortages while delivering high-quality oncology care to an increasing number of patients.”
According to Angel Alberich-Bayarri, CEO of Quibim, the latest pending version of the lesion detection algorithm will further expand the possibilities of MRI and prostate cancer screening. Alberich-Bayarri said: “This integrated approach, combined with workflow enhancing features, is aimed at mitigating staff shortages, high burn-out rates, and cost constraints currently being experienced by many radiology and oncology departments.”
Data from Prostate Cancer UK shows that 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, with over 12,000 men dying from it a year in the UK alone. The American Cancer Society claims prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in America. In 2023 alone there have been 288,300 new cases of prostate cancer and 34,700 deaths from prostate cancer.
“Because of its strong sensitivity to aggressive tumours, MRI has become the cornerstone of the prostate cancer diagnostic pathway. We now need to improve its specificity to avoid unnecessary biopsies, and its inter-reader reproducibility to allow reliable diagnoses outside of expert centers.”
Prof. Oliver Rouvière, Head of the Department of Radiology, Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Lyon added: “Two of the biggest challenges facing any AI software dedicated to prostate MRI include the ability to demonstrate good specificity while maintaining a high level of sensitivity. Above all, we need to deliver robust diagnostic outcomes across different imaging protocols, magnetic field strengths and vendors."
At the start of 2023, Quibim partnered with the European Commission to launch the 'pan-cancer' project which is designed to create an easy-access to cancer images for clinicians, researchers, and innovators to further streamline diagnosing and treatment.
