New AI software making access to treatment faster for cancer patients

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - A patient can wait anywhere from hours to days after they complete a scan to start cancer treatment. Now, it can happen in seconds thanks to new AI software.

Sotiri Stathakis is the chief of physics at the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center: the first clinical facility in the world to use artificial intelligence software.

“We need to embrace the technology and use it for the benefit of our patients for reducing the burden of cancer and trying to get them started with treatments as soon as we can,” said Stathakis.

The software is called MR-Box. It takes an MRI scan of a patient with brain, throat, or pelvic cancer and generates an accurate CT scan. This means patients don’t have to physically sit for another scan before doctors can create a radiation treatment plan.

“It’s going to help us identify the target, the cancer, it’ll help us identify the organs at risk, so we can make a better plan, a more personalized plan, and a more accurate plan,” said Stathakis.

Stathakis says this more accurate plan can now be done in one visit.

“With a tool like that, not only are you saving the additional appointment, but that four-to-eight-hour process is done in about 30 seconds,” said Stathakis.

With a faster scan process, doctors can see more patients and treat them sooner, which is critical in the fight against cancer.

They’ll be able to start using this software on cancer patients in November.

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