Science relies on technology to decipher images that are invisible to the human eye

Radiography, ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging are some of the diagnostic tools that allow to obtain internal images of the individual and to detect the presence of diseases and the degree of their involvement or extension. Although it allows the creation of the most appropriate form of the therapeutic approach, There is still relevant information in decision-making invisible to the human eye. Radiomics is a science that extracts, through computational algorithms, quantitative parameters in medical images to discover and quantify the most difficult and remote aspects of vision.

This science began to provide information that until now has been hidden from the doctor. Its application in clinical research contributes to the understanding of many diseases and the identification of certain signs. From the information derived from these studies, it is possible to develop applications for diagnosing and predicting disease risk.

Thanks to its ability to analyze large amounts of data, Radiation science is a very useful source of information for studying the visible development of diseases. “When we study a tumor in the pancreas on a CT scan, as well as the radiologist’s report on its size and possibility of cutting, the radiological studies on these images will tell us more accurately whether or not the patient is at risk of salvage surgery, if it will develop for a short period of time or metastasis. for the next three months,” explains the report’s coordinator and director of the Clinical Imaging District at the Polytechnic University La Fey Hospital, Luis Martí-Ponmatete.

Although much of its potential has been developed, this science is within the scope of Exploratory phase and evidence generation. Before being transferred to clinical practice, he must face challenges of a different nature. One of them comes from the hand of regulation, which must ensure the privacy and security of patient data in the development stages. Although radiological data extraction can be performed on any type of medical image available in hospitals, it is important to ensure its security and privacy.

Radiomics allows us to offer the patient the most personalized treatments depending on the characteristics of his pathology. “Hiddle progress has been made in medicine. Radiomics intends to report predisposition, presence, or diagnosis of diseases and can be used to select patients for treatment and provide better treatment options in a personalized way,” concludes Consuelo Martin de Dios, managing director of the Roche Institute Foundation.

The Roche Institute has brought together these issues in its publication, “The Prediction Report: Radiomics,” by the Observatory for Trends in Future Medicine. As explained by the report’s coordinator, it offers multiple applications in areas such as oncology, rheumatology and neurodegenerative diseases.