Future of prostate imaging: Artificial intelligence in assessing prostatic magnetic resonance imaging
Lyubomir Chervenkov, Nikolay Sirakov, Gancho Kostov, Tsvetelina Velikova, G. Hadjidekov
Abstract
Prostate cancer (Pca; adenocarcinoma) is one of the most common cancers in adult males and one of the leading causes of death in both men and women. The diagnosis of Pca requires substantial experience, and even then the lesions can be difficult to detect. Moreover, although the diagnostic approach for this disease has improved significantly with the advent of multiparametric magnetic resonance, that technology has certain unresolved limitations. In recent years artificial intelligence (AI) has been introduced to the field of radiology, providing new software solutions for prostate diagnostics. Precise mapping of the prostate has become possible through AI and this has greatly improved the accuracy of biopsy. AI has also allowed for certain suspicious lesions to be attributed to a given group according to the Prostate Imaging-Reporting & Data System classification. Finally, AI has facilitated the combination of data obtained from clinical, laboratory (prostate-specific antigen), imaging (magnetic resonance), and biopsy examinations, and in this way new regularities can be found which at the moment remain hidden. Further evolution of AI in this field is inevitable and it is almost certain to significantly expand the efficacy, accuracy and efficiency of diagnosis and treatment of Pca.