Thyroid ultrasound AI saves a woman’s life

Jane Li, a 30-year-old female teacher, was fit and had no symptoms of thyroid cancer when she took part in a health checkup program. On an examination, a 2 cm thyroid nodule was seen on her thyroid ultrasound images. Based on this ultrasound result, she was referred to the National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH) where the combination of thyroid ultrasound examination with AmCAD-UT® AI has been regularly performed. AmCAD-UT’s structured report showed her nodule with irregular margins and possible microcalcifications, features that suggest suspicious malignancy. She was later diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer, the most common form of thyroid cancer. Fortunately, early detection of cancer increases her chances for successful treatment. Jane has recovered well after her treatments.

Many thyroid nodules do not cause symptoms until they are large enough to affect the surrounding tissues and organs or to be visible on the neck, said Dr. Lin of NTUH. Thyroid nodules are often found by palpation or ultrasound which is typically subjectively defined by radiologists. Routine health checkups using ultrasound powered with AI have become more mature in recent times because of the increased need for efficiency, diagnostic consistency, and accuracy.