The field of artificial intelligence is moving quickly, however, and dozens, if not hundreds, of AI tools are currently under development and investigation. Matthew G. Crowson, MD, an assistant professor in otolaryngology–head and neck surgery at Harvard Medical School in Boston who is researching the use of AI in otology, believes that “we’re probably going to see AI processes baked into existing clinical workflows within the next two to three years.”
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January 2023With this coming expansion, it’s important to take a look at what technologies are being developed and how AI may help you in your clinical practice.
Detecting, Diagnosing and Guiding Head and Neck Cancer Treatment
One of the most promising applications of AI in otolaryngology is the diagnosis of laryngeal cancer based on video laryngoscopy and histopathology slides, according to a 2022 review of literature (Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2022 July 5; doi: 10.1177/01945998221110839).
Zeno AI is one such system, but certainly not the only one. Dr. Bur also helped develop an AI system to detect and identify laryngeal lesions on flexible laryngoscopy. The system performed well in testing, according to Dr. Bur. “We found very encouraging results with it being able to differentiate benign and malignant tumors,” he said. Dr. Bur and his team have submitted a paper detailing their work; at press time, it was pending peer review.
Researchers and clinicians hope that AI technology will lead to more effective and earlier detection of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma—and that it will eventually increase the accessibility of laryngeal cancer screening and expertguided treatment for populations who currently lack access to specialist care.
It’s currently difficult to determine with great accuracy which oral lesions may progress to cancer, and which will not. Repeatedly performing biopsies on lesions is inconvenient and uncomfortable for patients, and is “not a very efficient way over the long term to arrive at a diagnosis,” Dr. Crowson said. He and his team created and tested an AI system that uses demographic, clinical, and pathological data to predict malignant transformation with greater than 70% accuracy (Laryngoscope. [published online ahead of print July 9, 2022]. doi:10.1002/lary.30285).
Future systems that include additional data points, such as genetic information, may be even more accurate. Such systems may eventually allow physicians to focus their clinical attention on patients who are most likely to require (and benefit from) further medical care, while patients at low risk of progression may be able to safely avoid repeated biopsies and frequent follow-ups.