We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress hp
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




AI Tool Helps Make Real-Time Diagnosis During Surgery

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 26 Dec 2022

When a patient undergoes a surgical operation to remove a tumor or treat a disease, the course of surgery is often not predetermined. More...

To decide how much tissue needs to be removed, surgeons must know more about the condition they are treating, including a tumor’s margins, its stage and whether a lesion is malignant or benign - determinations that often hinge upon collecting, analyzing, and diagnosing a disease while the patient is on the operating table. When surgeons send samples to a pathologist for examination, both speed and accuracy are of the essence. The current gold-standard approach for examining tissues often takes too long and a faster approach, which involves freezing tissue, can introduce artifacts that can complicate diagnostics. Now, researchers have developed a new method that leverages artificial intelligence to translate between frozen sections and the gold-standard approach, thereby improving the quality of images to increase the accuracy of rapid diagnostics.

For making final diagnoses, pathologists use formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples - this method preserves tissue in a way that produces high-quality images but the process is laborious and typically takes 12 to 48 hours. For a rapid diagnosis, pathologists use an approach known as cryosectioning that involves fast freezing tissue, cutting sections, and observing these thin slices under a microscope. Cryosectioning takes minutes rather than hours but can distort cellular details and compromise or tear delicate tissue. Researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA, USA) have developed a deep-learning model that can be used to translate between frozen sections and more commonly used FFPE tissue. The team demonstrated that the method could be used to subtype different kinds of cancer, including glioma and non-small-cell lung cancer.

The researchers validated their findings by recruiting pathologists to a reader study in which they were asked to make a diagnosis from images that had gone through the AI method and traditional cryosectioning images. The AI method not only improved image quality but also improved diagnostic accuracy among experts. The algorithm was also tested on independently collected data from Turkey. The researchers note that in the future, prospective clinical studies should be conducted to validate the AI method and determine if it can contribute to diagnostic accuracy and surgical decision-making in real hospital settings.

“We are using the power of artificial intelligence to address an age-old problem at the intersection of surgery and pathology,” said corresponding author Faisal Mahmood, PhD, of the Division of Computational Pathology at BWH. “Making a rapid diagnosis from frozen tissue samples is challenging and requires specialized training, but this kind of diagnosis is a critical step in caring for patients during surgery.”

“Our work shows that AI has the potential to make a time-sensitive, critical diagnosis easier and more accessible to pathologists,” said Mahmood. “And it could potentially be applied to any type of cancer surgery. It opens up many possibilities for improving diagnosis and patient care.”

Related Links:
Brigham and Women’s Hospital


New
Gold Member
Collection and Transport System
PurSafe Plus®
Portable Electronic Pipette
Mini 96
New
Rapid Molecular Testing Device
FlashDetect Flash10
New
Laboratory Software
ArtelWare
Read the full article by registering today, it's FREE! It's Free!
Register now for FREE to LabMedica.com and get access to news and events that shape the world of Clinical Laboratory Medicine.
  • Free digital version edition of LabMedica International sent by email on regular basis
  • Free print version of LabMedica International magazine (available only outside USA and Canada).
  • Free and unlimited access to back issues of LabMedica International in digital format
  • Free LabMedica International Newsletter sent every week containing the latest news
  • Free breaking news sent via email
  • Free access to Events Calendar
  • Free access to LinkXpress new product services
  • REGISTRATION IS FREE AND EASY!
Click here to Register








Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: Colorectal cancer under the microscope (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Unique Microbial Fingerprint to Improve Diagnosis of Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK and the second deadliest. New research has revealed that it carries a unique microbial fingerprint, which could help doctors better understand... Read more

Hematology

view channel
Image: New research points to protecting blood during radiation therapy (Photo courtesy of 123RF)

Pioneering Model Measures Radiation Exposure in Blood for Precise Cancer Treatments

Scientists have long focused on protecting organs near tumors during radiotherapy, but blood — a vital, circulating tissue — has largely been excluded from dose calculations. Each blood cell passing through... Read more

Immunology

view channel
Image: The VENTANA HER2 (4B5) test is now CE-IVDR approved (Photo courtesy of Roche)

Companion Diagnostic Test Identifies HER2-Ultralow Breast Cancer and Biliary Tract Cancer Patients

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Europe, with more than 564,000 new cases and 145,000 deaths annually. Metastatic breast cancer is rising in younger populations and remains the leading cause... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Conceptual design of the CORAL capsule for microbial sampling in the small intestine (H. Mohammed et al., Device (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.device.2025.100904)

Coral-Inspired Capsule Samples Hidden Bacteria from Small Intestine

The gut microbiome has been linked to conditions ranging from immune disorders to mental health, yet conventional stool tests often fail to capture bacterial populations in the small intestine.... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2025 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.