SHAH ALAM - The Lung Cancer Network Malaysia (LCNM) in collaboration with AstraZeneca and Qualitas Medical Group have introduced an Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to detect lung cancer which is the first of its kind.
The initiative which also involved the cooperation of three well known private cancer treatment centres such as Beacon Hospital, Subang Jaya Medical Centre and Sunway Medical Centre, provided free cancer screening for Malaysians.
The free AI lung cancer screening was initiated by LCNM president and cardiothoracic surgeon Dr Anand Sachithanandan and Malaysia AstraZeneca president Dr Sanjeev Panchal in an effort to encourage early detection of lung cancer.
Dr Anand said the cooperation will expand the access for people to receive the AI at primary care clinics and if necessary, further examinations would be done with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) scans at the three hospitals.
"Family history and air pollution are the main risk factors contributing to the increased trend of lung cancer among non-smokers.
"The cooperation using AI technology for cancer screenings is the first of its kind in Malaysia and it would help in detecting lung cancer among non-smokers," he said in a statement on Monday.
Meanwhile, Sanjeev said he hoped to expand the access for patients to obtain early diagnosis of lung cancer to reduce the death rate due to the disease in the country.