Free Republic

Pancreatic cancer is a silent disease. For many people, it has no symptoms until it is fairly advanced. Weight loss and increased blood glucose levels are known signs, but it has been unknown—until now—when these changes occur and to what extent. If we can better understand how and when these changes happen before pancreatic cancer diagnosis, we can use this knowledge to diagnose the disease earlier. Researchers investigated known signs of pancreatic cancer—weight loss, high blood sugar and diabetes—and looked at when they develop in relation to cancer. We found that dramatic weight loss in people with pancreatic cancer started...

In the current study, the research team used a statistical/machine learning technique, called random forests, that has the ability to "learn" how to classify individuals based on examples. Such AI programs build "decision" rules and mathematical models that enable decision-making with increasing accuracy as the amount of training data grows. The researchers first recorded standard, hours-long diagnostic interviews, called Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale, or CAPS, of 53 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with military-service-related PTSD, as well as those of 78 veterans without the disease. The recordings were then fed into voice software from SRI International—the institute that also invented Siri—to yield...

Toronto researchers have developed a portable device they say will accurately diagnose prostate cancer in 30 minutes. The microchip technology, created by a pair of University of Toronto scientists, will be able to determine the severity of the tumours through a simple urine sample and produce quick diagnosis with no need for painful biopsies.

PATIENTS will be allowed to bypass their GP and refer themselves for hospital treatment as part of a radical patient "DIY diagnosis" plan being considered by the Scottish Executive. The fast-track scheme would enable patients who have used the internet or medical books to diagnose their illnesses to see a consultant without the need for an appointment at their local surgery. The plan, proposed by a senior Glasgow consultant, has won the backing of the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Physicians of Glasgow and is being investigated by the Scottish Executive. John Sinclair, a urologist at the...