St. Francis Hospital in Topeka now using AI technology for lung cancer screening

CONTEXT: The above video originally aired on September 14th

TOPEKA (KSNT) – The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus is now the first hospital in Topeka to use advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to help doctors locate and treat lung cancer.

This new technology allows doctors to scan radiology reports and flag incidental lung nodules. It then automatically adds patients to a tracking system and alerts care teams that they need follow-up imaging.

St. Francis’s lung cancer screening program now has personalized and fast tracked care with a dedicated team of pulmonologists, radiologists and thoracic surgeons. By combining lung cancer screening with the new AI technology program, doctors at St. Francis can spot more potential cancers, regardless of the patient’s entry point into the health system.

“We encourage high-risk smokers and former smokers to begin annual lung screenings using low-dose CT scans,” said Dr. Abhishek Chakraborti of The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus. “Our new AI-powered software from Eon, a healthcare solutions company, enhances radiology by helping detect suspicious lung nodules. These nodules are often found incidentally meaning they appear on scans performed for other reasons. This technology adds an “extra layer” of diagnostic insight by flagging potentially cancerous findings that might otherwise go unnoticed.”

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women, according to The University of Kansas Health System St. Francis Campus. It’s early detection increases survivability dramatically. Because lung cancer is not subject to routine screening, it often goes undetected until it’s advanced, so it’s important to get screened.

Lung cancer screening is recommended for people who meet these criteria:

• Ages 50–77
• Current smoker or quit within the past 15 years
• Smoked at least a pack a day for 20 years or more

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