Todd Hollon

Intelligent Histology

A major focus of the MLiNS lab is to combine stimulated Raman histology (SRH), a rapid label-free, optical imaging method, with deep learning and computer vision techniques to discover the molecular, cellular, and microanatomic features of skull base and malignant brain tumors. We are using SRH in our operating rooms to improve the speed and accuracy of brain tumor diagnosis. Our group has focused on deep learning-based computer vision methods for automated image interpretation, intraoperative diagnosis, and tumor margin delineation. Our work culminated in a multicenter, prospective, clinical trial, which demonstrated that AI interpretation of SRH images was equivalent in diagnostic accuracy to pathologist interpretation of conventional histology. We were able to show, for the first time, that a deep neural network is able to learn recognizable and interpretable histologic image features (e.g. tumor cellularity, nuclear morphology, infiltrative growth pattern, etc) in order to make a diagnosis. Our future work is directed at going beyond human-level interpretation towards identifying molecular/genetic features, single-cell classification, and predicting patient prognosis.

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