MELBOURNE, Oct. 1– Australian researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) tool that detects tiny brain lesions causing severe epilepsy in children, enabling faster diagnosis, more precise treatment, and a potential cure.
The “AI epilepsy detective” can find focal cortical dysplasias, lesions about the size of a blueberry which causes recurring seizures, in up to 94 percent of cases with the support of medical imaging, according to a statement released Wednesday by Australia’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI).
In a study published in the U.S. journal Epilepsia, the system detected lesions using MRI and PET scans, compared with traditional scans where 80 percent of diagnoses were missed by human examination of MRI results.
“With more accurate imaging, neurosurgeons can develop a safer surgical roadmap to avoid important blood vessels and brain regions that control speech, thinking and movement and removing healthy brain tissue,” said study lead author Emma Macdonald-Laurs, a MCRI neurologist.
More accurate diagnosis of cortical dysplasia would lead to faster referrals for epilepsy surgery, fewer seizures and improved long-term developmental outcomes, said Macdonald-Laurs who led the team that created the detector.
The trial involved 71 children at Australia’s Royal Children’s Hospital. Of the 17 children in the final test group, 12 underwent surgery and 11 are now seizure-free, the statement said.
Epilepsy affects roughly one in 200 Australian children, with cortical dysplasias, developing when the baby is still in the womb, a common cause of drug-resistant seizures, it said.
The longer uncontrolled seizures persist in a child, the greater the risk of learning difficulties, including intellectual disability.
However, epilepsy caused by cortical dysplasia can be improved or cured by surgery if the abnormal brain tissue can be located and removed, Macdonald-Laurs said. With additional funding, the team could test the detector in pediatric hospitals across Australia, researchers said. (Xinhua)
