New screening tool developed to automatically identify older

appearing brains typical of dementia

 
Early intervention
Faster processing & diagnosis
Research advancements





Refined by physican checked

modeled labeling



Database of MRI’s
with reports both
normal and abnormal




BioBert








Transformer  

Taryn Claassens
 APCP, Article Infograph
Taryn Claassens
AP Computer Systems Principles
INT Module - ACM TechNews Project
# Rubric A grade of
9 The purpose of the TechNews innovation is to have a screening tool built on a database
containing sets of images built on AI to evaluate MRI scans. This tool will allow doctors
to detect normal vs. abnormal MRIs to screen for dementia. The scans look for signs of
older appearing brains vs. actual age based on deep learning image algorithms [1].

10 The function and how the innovation achieves its goal is to determine if MRI scans are
normal or abnormal for the subject’s age. The database of MRI images with labeled
reports is queried through an intelligent database using a form of AI called BioBert and
Transformer wth NLP (natural language processing) to read the reports and find
correlations. The results are a series of comparative MRI’s with an average age
determination based on the information it has to work with. It will come back with not
only an age estimate, it will also determine if the MRI is normal or abnormal and if the
MRI aligns with other known abnormalities. The function that best comes close in my
mind is that it’s a series of queries.

11 The infographic portrays the "overall" concept of how the early detection system was
built and how the researchers holistically constructed the database (with only limited
knowledge of the process and no training in the languages, I did a basic sketch). The
Image processing system is based on Transformer's NLP program [19]. Transformers is
the basis used by Google to build its AI Bert [16-17]. Bert is the basis for BioBert, a
medical technology system that has been trained off additional medical database libraries
and Bert using transformers [16, 14, 15,18]. The researchers at Kings College London
created a database of MRIs with reports and added additional scans from the public in a
study. They had a collection of normal and abnormal scans [13]. They improved the
database by having it reviewed by doctors and added seven main categories called
labeling to make it easier for the NLP to read [12]. An MRI is checked against thousands
of MRIs in the system and compared for in AI diagnosis or normal age vs. abnormal age
[10]. The findings have been quite accurate and can result in early detection and
intervention for caregivers [20].

12 The most beneficial effect of this innovation found from ACM TechNews is that it
creates faster detection of abnormal and normal MRI scans [2]. It allows doctors to flag
abnormal brain aging, and the hope is to lend this to early intervention and aid clinical
trials and studies for most patients who need it [1]. Typically MRI scans need to be read
by specialized neuroradiologists, and backlogs can make that reading take a long time
[2]. Taking this a step further, having a database scan also allows abnormal scans to be
evaluated against more scans. It enables the doctors to compare it against additional
diagnoses of normal vs. abnormal age [3].
 13 The potentially harmful effect of allowing AI to scan and to flag-diagnose MRI scans for
abnormality is the potential for error. The margin for error is there, and without
categorization through labeling, the margin for error is higher [8]. We see this online
because Google already uses BERT for its SEO search engine algorithm. It's close, but
not perfect. After reading about the margins for error, I would hope that once an MRI is
flagged abnormal, it should be reviewed by a human. If it is glaringly abnormal, there is
no reason it needs to be scrutinized, and I would hope it would be examined more closely
if it is borderline.

14 I chose this computing innovation because it dropped me down a rabbit hole to learn how
it works. I can't say I am very far because it's very advanced language use and requires a
deep understanding of databases. Another reason is my love of neuroscience made me
read this article, and I wanted to see what was being developed primarily concerning
dementia and Alzheimer's research. The best way I know how to explain the function of
this entire concept is all based on natural language processing (NLP) or deep learning
models. It is a basis for Artificial Intelligence or AI. The NLP at the root of the concept is
Transformer; the Transformer uses relationships between words in a sentence to interpret
the weight of words to determine the interpretation [9]. The network developed can be
pre-trained to improve its performance [9]. In this situation, Transformer is the NLP
basis for Google's AI Bert, the basis for Bio-Bert (used in medicine). Bio-Bert was
further trained using NLP into a unique proprietary database of MRI scans with reports
used for this system to detect normal vs. abnormal brain scans for patients.

15 The function I used for the infographic is always 'insert", and I used Illustrator to build
my infographic as my tool. The function to add to the board is Place which is a built-in
typical insert function for image or vector placement, and it's done by inserting the image
or vector from my computer.

Works cited
Document Citations

[1] Booth, Thomas. "New Screening Tool Developed to Automatically Identify Older
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[2] Wood DA;Kafiabadi S;Busaidi AA;Guilhem E;Montvila A;Lynch J;Townend M;Agarwal

S;Mazumder A;Barker GJ;Ourselin S;Cole JH;Booth TC; "Accurate Brain-Age Models for
 Routine Clinical MRI Examinations." NeuroImage, U.S. National Library of Medicine,
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[3] Booth, Thomas. "Researchers Automate Brain MRI Image Labelling, More than 100,000..."
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[4] Booth, Thomas, and Ourselin, Sebastein. "Researchers Receive £1M Medical Research
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Infographic Citations

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