Imagine you go to the doctor because you suspect something is off-kilter: You keep outgrowing your shoes and your rings no longer fit.
Now imagine that before you see the doctor, you are escorted to a room where an assistant takes two photos — one of the back of your hand, the other of your clenched fist.
Researchers at Japan’s Kobe University have developed an artificial intelligence-powered system that can detect acromegaly [ack-row-meg-uh-lee], a rare endocrine disease.
Caused by an excessive production of growth hormone, acromegaly leads to enlarged hands and feet, changes in facial appearance and abnormal growth of bones and internal organs. It appears most often in middle age.
Because it develops over many years, it can be difficult to catch early. Left untreated, acromegaly can lead to serious health problems and shorten life expectancy by about a decade.
Keeping patients’ privacy concerns in mind, the researchers decided to focus their tool on hands, rather than faces. That led patients from 15 medical institutions to contribute more than 11,000 images used to “train” and test the model.
The researchers said they were surprised at how sensitive and accurate the AI tool was when identifying the disease simply from hand images. The system outperformed experienced endocrinologists who reviewed the same images.
They also noted that they now hope to adapt their system to detect other medical conditions that produce visible changes in the hands, like rheumatoid arthritis and anemia.
Surely, the scientists deserve a round of applause for their creation — a hand, if you will. Or maybe we can just send them a picture.