The initiative, driven by the Ministry of Digitalization and the Ministry of Health, aims to provide radiologists and other healthcare professionals with a technological support tool. This technology seeks to streamline work and reduce error margins in oncological diagnosis, a critical process in medicine.
Artificial intelligence does not replace the doctor but complements their work. The systems quickly analyze images from magnetic resonances and mammograms, offering objective assessments that specialists can use to make more informed clinical decisions in less time.
For prostate cancer, AI assists radiologists in interpreting magnetic resonance images and can review a patient's complete history of imaging tests. This allows for the evaluation of tumor evolution over time in seconds, eliminating the need for manual comparisons and reducing potential errors or subjective interpretations in monitoring already diagnosed patients.
Regarding breast cancer, the systems are designed to read mammograms in both conventional 2D and 3D mammography (tomosynthesis) formats. AI identifies suspicious lesions and automatically assigns them a score indicating the likelihood of malignancy. This enables radiologists to prioritize urgent cases and accelerate reading times, which is particularly useful in screening programs with high volumes of tests.
“"These innovative technological solutions will help professionals eliminate the more mechanical or repetitive parts of their work so they can focus on what is truly important, which is making clinical decisions with agility and precision."
The benefits for patients are significant: faster and more accurate diagnosis allows for earlier treatment initiation, which can improve prognosis. Furthermore, the system's ability to process more tests in less time means more people can be attended to within shorter periods. Medical reports also gain consistency, becoming less dependent on variable factors such as professional fatigue.
Before widespread implementation, the systems will undergo a testing period in the coming months. During this phase, the technology will be tested with already diagnosed cases to verify its effectiveness and accuracy, comparing AI results with confirmed diagnoses. If satisfactory, progressive installation in hospitals and services will begin from summer 2026.
