Bot
- Nodule detection: 0.00% @Recall1
- Malignancy detection: 0.00% @Recall1
Radiologist
The AI system will need to learn two different skills: how to detect nodules in the lungs, and how to identify which nodules are likely to be malignant.
Detection:
A nodule is a small lump of tissue that is not normally present in the lungs. Finding nodules is a classic "needle-in-a-haystack" problem. This is because nodules are usually tiny, and many other structures like blood vessels and scars can look like them on first glance.
In this picture, the white dot that is circled in red is a small nodule. None of the other dots are nodules.
Malignancy:
There are a range of nodule features that radiologists use to determine which nodules might be cancerous. The most commonly used system is the Fleischner criteria, which only consider the size and number of nodules, and the presence of risk factors like smoking. Other systems are more complicated, and include the shape and location of the nodules.