Waterloo Engineering researchers have invented a digital medical imaging system that significantly improves the cancer detection process to deliver immediate results.
Led by Dr. Parsin Haji Reza, a professor in Waterloo’s Department of Systems Design Engineering, the research team has developed the Photon Absorption Remote Sensing (PARS) system, a built-from-scratch technology that is faster than traditional cancer-detection methods and aims to deliver a diagnosis in minutes — enabling prompt surgical intervention.
The new system is also highly accurate. Clinical studies using human breast tissue showed that pathologists were unable to distinguish between images generated by the PARS system and those produced by conventional methods. The technology boasts a 98 per cent correlation with traditional diagnostic techniques.
By replacing traditional biopsy methods with high-resolution imaging powered by artificial intelligence (AI), the PARS system accelerates the diagnostic process, saving both time and resources.
"Our primary goal is to provide patients with timely and accurate diagnoses, reducing the need for multiple surgeries and minimizing the risk of cancer spread," said Reza.
“In addition to reducing patients’ stress, this technology will save billions of dollars for the health care system," Reza added. "Surgeon and pathologists’ time costs money, each slide and special dye costs money, the hospitals’ facilities cost money. We can now reduce all those costs with faster biopsy results that are just as accurate."
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