Montreal researchers develop app to predict progression of brain tumours

MONTREAL -- An artificial brain is being used to analyze human brains.

Montreal researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a smartphone application to predict brain tumour malignancy and patients' chances of survival.

If artificial intelligence remains mysterious for many, researchers from The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital) and the Montreal Children's Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) have used it and developed an application for smartphones, available to all doctors who wish to use it.

The goal is to refer patients to the best treatment options.

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For researchers, this is a concrete way to use AI in clinical practice.

Meningioma - which starts in the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord - is the most common type of central nervous system tumour, with 8.14 cases per 100,000 people.

While the prognosis is generally better than for other brain tumours, the degree of virulence varies greatly.

That is why researchers believe it is extremely important to be able to predict malignancy and survival time in order to determine if surgery is the best option for the patient.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2020.