Photo Credit: EU2017EE Estonian Presidency

British radiologists welcome prime minister’s AI ambitions

British prime minister Theresa May announced the government will fund AI for early diagnosis of lung, bowel, prostate and ovarian cancer.

In a speech at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics in Macclesfield, England, Mrs May said the AI and Data Grand Challenge is to drastically increase numbers of patients getting an early diagnosis.

Over £1.4bn has been invested in research and development to support the Grand Challenge programme.

Reacting to the news, Dr Nicola Strickland, President of the Royal College of Radiologists said: “Radiologist and clinical oncologist doctors welcome the prospect of being able to use AI in their everyday practice to enhance the quality of healthcare they are able to provide for their patients.”

 

theresa may ibm baidu artificial intelligenceIBM Watson for oncology and genomics

For the first time, hospitals in India will use IBM’s Watson for Oncology and Genomics to provide personalised cancer care.

Apollo Hospitals, India’s leading super speciality chain, will use the IBM cognitive computing platforms in 10 of its cancer care hospitals.

Preetha Reddy, Vice Chairperson of Apollo Hospitals, said the innovation: “will help the clinicians and oncologists at Apollo Hospitals augment their own expertise to deliver an unparalleled and personalised patient care across our hospitals.”

According to the World Health Organisation, there are about 949,000 new cancer cases in India annually, accounting for more than 634,000 deaths related to cancer each year.

 

theresa may ibm baidu artificial intelligenceAI talent leaves Baidu behind

Investors were shocked when Baidu’s COO, Qi Lu, an expert on AI and leader of Baidu’s autonomous cars and assistants business stepped down for personal reasons in May.

The ex-Microsoft executive’s departure led to a 9.5% drop in Baidu’s share price, the biggest in almost three years.

Qi Lu was instrumental to Baidu’s revenue recovery following a scandal in 2016 where a young boy died after paying for controversial cancer treatment which had been featured on the company’s search engine.