Philly Doctors Are Using a First-of-its-Kind Artificial Intelligence Program to Improve Early Detection in Lung Care

Detecting and treating diseases in the chest often presents unique challenges. Because of their concealed but critical location, many conditions, such as lung cancer, remain difficult to detect until they reach advanced stages when symptoms typically begin to develop, complicating treatment options and limiting outcomes. As a result, these diseases are often some of the most dangerous, with lung cancer alone having a higher mortality rate annually than colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. 

Identifying these conditions early can save lives. Early detection leads to better treatment options and can transform quality of life for patients, yet many early detection options are underutilized. And while chest scans have proven highly effective in lung cancer detection and treatment, their potential to identify a broader range of conditions remains largely under-explored. 

In Philadelphia, Temple Health’s innovative Healthy Chest Initiative has been at the forefront of addressing this gap for years by reimagining the function of chest screenings. The Temple Healthy Chest Initiative takes routine lung screenings and provides patients with comprehensive results and follow up, if needed, for the entire chest region. This approach has added years to patients’ lives, addressing incidental findings for everything from the heart, to kidneys, stomach and more.

Now, this initiative has become the first of its kind in the U.S. to use artificial intelligence to address these scans more efficiently. A.I. algorithms support physicians in sorting through a massive amount of imaging data, enhancing the identification of not only lung nodules, but conditions ranging from COPD, to osteoporosis, to other cardiovascular abnormalities. By enhancing the precision and efficiency of screenings, the Temple Healthy Chest Initiative’s use of artificial intelligence can help give early answers and support for patients who may have otherwise gone years without help.

As a comprehensive and innovative approach to preventive care, the Temple Healthy Chest Initiative serves as a model for screening difficult to detect, and oftentimes deadly, diseases in one visit–and in an increasingly A.I.-driven word, it offers a trailblazing example of the technology’s potential to meaningfully support healthcare. 

The Power of a Full Picture of Chest Health

Chest health often presents a complex challenge, with many diseases remaining hidden until symptoms escalate into serious conditions. This is especially true of lung cancer, where late-stage diagnoses drastically reduce survival rates. Early detection through low-dose CT scans can significantly improve outcomes by identifying abnormalities before they become life-threatening, but even though these screenings are critical, a relatively small number of patients receive them: A 2022 study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that only 16.4% of eligible patients received the scan.

When a patient receives a chest screening at Temple Health, physicians not only look for early signs of lung cancer, but other conditions, such as coronary calcification (an early sign of heart disease), sleep apnea, kidney disease, and more. Chest screenings are recommended based on age and lifestyle factors, not symptoms. This offers a unique, potentially life-saving opportunity for early intervention for a wide array of conditions that otherwise fly under the radar. 

By addressing a spectrum of potential issues in a single procedure, Temple doctors also maximize the utility of each scan, saving the patient time and reducing health care costs. And with nurse navigators at the heart of the program, patients benefit from personal guidance through the screening process, comprehensive explanations of results, and coordinated follow-up care. After the scan, instead of patients simply waiting for a determination as to whether they have cancer or not, they’re provided a full picture of their chest health, and connected to the right support if needed.

A Step into the Future

Now, the Temple Healthy Chest Initiative has taken the next step by incorporating artificial intelligence into its screening process. The A.I. imaging software rapidly processes scans for subtle abnormalities that may be difficult to detect with the human eye, such as early indications of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, heart disease, osteoporosis, sleep apnea, and even other cancers, and brings together that data to point physicians in the direction of the underlying cause. And thanks to the Temple Healthy Chest Initiative’s multidisciplinary team of specialists, the speed and comprehensiveness of artificial intelligence can be fully utilized, reducing the number of patients who go undiagnosed for conditions outside of cancer. 

The model could also have an expanded impact by serving as an example for other health care systems. Because the program uses existing technologies—CT scans and A.I.—regions with limited access to specialists may be able to implement this model, using centralized AI analysis to aid with diagnosis and efficiently prioritize urgent cases. 

Even prior to the addition of artificial intelligence, the Temple Healthy Chest Initiative has already demonstrated its impact on patients in the greater Philadelphia region. Patients who might otherwise have remained undiagnosed are receiving timely, personalized care for abnormalities detected in screening, enhancing their quality of life and long-term health outcomes.

As the Temple Healthy Chest Initiative takes this innovative step forward, it’s setting a new standard for not just screenings, but how health care teams can best work together with artificial intelligence to increase the prevalence, impact, and comprehensiveness of preventive care.