Personalized breast cancer tele-monitoring: is it possible

• 29 April 2024
• 1 minute

The Institute of Digital Technologies for Personalized Healthcare (MeDiTech) is participating in the Breast Cancer Personalized Treatment (BCperTT) project with the goal of developing a personalized system to monitor breast cancer treatment.

Breast cancer is still a significant public health challenge, with millions of new cases diagnosed globally each year.

However, through an innovative approach that integrates advanced technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), the BCperTT project offers the opportunity to conduct monitoring operations in a personalized and noninvasive manner. Through a thermal imaging camera and a mobile application with AI algorithms, patients can monitor their health directly from home, reducing the need for frequent hospital visits and MRIs.

"This is a typical example of how new digital technologies can benefit patients and how, through the synergy of partners with different skills, extremely innovative projects can emerge," comments Francesca Faraci, head of the Biomedical Signal Processing (BSP) research group. The project, funded by the Swiss Agency for the Promotion of Innovation (Innosuisse), involves the MeDiTech Institute, the Cantonal Hospital (EOC), and two companies, Definition12 (CH) and Predikta (BRA).

"Tele-monitoring could reduce the burden on patients by offering them a convenient and personalized solution for monitoring their treatment. In addition, it could allow us to collect crucial data to evaluate the effectiveness of therapies in real time," explains Dr. Lorenzo Rossi, head of data collection at the EOC. Therefore, it is important to provide adequate psychological support and clear information so that they can fully understand the results and feel supported in the course of treatment."

Luigi Fiorillo, BSP researcher, adds, "BCperTT represents an opportunity to take full advantage of artificial intelligence support in product development by integrating highly innovative image analysis algorithms that will be tailored to the specific use case, i.e., to monitor cancer evolution in the clinical setting in real time."

BCperTT aims to deliver a working prototype product, including the thermal image analysis algorithm, with the purpose of conducting a clinical pilot project to demonstrate its feasibility. This approach could not only improve patients' quality of life, but also reduce healthcare costs associated with breast cancer treatment.