iCAD and Google Health are intensifying their partnership to integrate advanced AI technology into the ProFound Breast Health Suite for 2D Mammography. This collaboration aims to facilitate independent reading for breast cancer screening worldwide, alleviating radiologist workload and addressing healthcare disparities. The AI-driven solution, ProFound Detection, enhances accuracy and efficiency, potentially revolutionizing mammography practices. This joint effort seeks to democratize quality healthcare and improve patient outcomes on a global scale.
iCAD, a global leader in innovative cancer detection and therapy solutions, has announced the expansion of its partnership with Google Health. This strategic collaboration aims to integrate Google’s advanced AI technology into iCAD’s ProFound Breast Health Suite for 2D Mammography. Upon regulatory approval, this integration will empower the suite to function as an independent reader for breast cancer screening globally. The agreement, which spans two decades, holds the potential to alleviate the workload of radiologists and address healthcare disparities among women.
Dana Brown, the President and CEO of iCAD explained that the conventional practice of double-reading mammograms by two radiologists has become increasingly challenging due to the global shortage of radiologists. To counter this, iCAD is leveraging the capabilities of ProFound Detection, their advanced AI-driven cancer detection solution. The goal is to offer a viable alternative to the traditional double-reading workflow, making radiology departments more efficient and adept at managing their caseload.
ProFound Detection, a deep-learning cancer detection solution, has shown significant clinical benefits. It enhances detection accuracy and workflow efficiency for radiologists interpreting mammography images. Compatible with both 2D and 3D mammography, the solution rapidly and precisely analyzes images, highlighting suspicious areas that may require further examination. This approach has been proven to enhance accuracy and efficiency, reducing false positives and unnecessary recalls.
The collaboration between iCAD and Google Health started in November 2022 with a strategic development and commercialization agreement. By integrating Google’s AI technology, including a mammography AI system, into iCAD’s breast imaging AI solutions like ProFound Detection, the companies aim to elevate their technology and expand its accessibility to millions of women and healthcare providers worldwide.
A pivotal independent study showcased Google’s mammography AI system surpassing human readers in performance, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) with an absolute margin of 11.5% over the average radiologist. The AI system also demonstrated non-inferior performance when incorporated into the UK’s double-reading process, leading to an 88% reduction in the second reader’s workload.
Greg Corrado, Head of Health AI at Google, emphasized that technology should play a significant role in democratizing access to high-quality healthcare. He praised iCAD’s leadership in the breast cancer domain and expressed hope that their collaboration would alleviate the burden on radiologists globally while diminishing healthcare disparities.
In alignment with this vision, iCAD is committed to providing free breast cancer screening for underserved individuals in specific countries as part of its collaboration with Google. Dana Brown further stated that their Breast AI solutions, already widely adopted worldwide, level the healthcare playing field and enhance patient outcomes by providing a comprehensive view of each woman’s health, enabling the detection of cancers at an earlier stage, and improving overall well-being.
