Artificial Intelligence for early detection of non-communicable disease risk in people with breast cancer

The ultimate ambition of the ARTILLERY consortium is to enhance long term health of the growing population of breast cancer survivors by making optimal use of routine imaging for timely detection of actionable chronic conditions or their risk factors. ARTILLERY will develop trustworthy AI systems that allow robust and accurate risk prediction of common chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unfavorable body composition and osteoporosis. Implementation of these AI systems in routine care will provide healthcare professionals with objective and quantitative parameters of their patients’ individual chronic disease risks, permitting them to start prompt treatment and implement risk reducing strategies.

Unique aspects of ARTILLERY include the continuous and close interaction between renowned computational scientists, influential breast cancer professionals and the largest breast cancer patient advocacy organisation in Europe, as well as direct access to a large and comprehensive Real-World Data infrastructure that includes CT scans and clinical data from >26.000 patients with breast cancer.

This partnership will result in trustworthy AI systems for prevalent chronic conditions, relevant to breast cancer patients and physicians, and ready for implementation at radiotherapy workstations across Europe. ARTILLERY-manuals will be developed and made available to multidisciplinary tumour boards and will contain recommendations on how and when (not) to use AI systems in routine breast cancer care, and on optimal management of breast cancer patients identified to be at high risk of chronic conditions.

At the end of the project, we will have augmented the understanding and perception of the public towards the use of AI systems in routine healthcare and empowered breast cancer patients to make targeted lifestyle changes based on their individual risk profile, thus improving their life expectancy and quality of life.