[ad_1]
An Oregon teenager's cancer treatment, a deadly form of the disease that has just 7% five-year survival rate.
Rishab Jain, a 13-year-old from Stoller Middle School in Portland, on Tuesday won the 3M Young Scientist's Discovery Education Challenge with an algorithm that uses machine learning to help doctors zero in on the pancreas during cancer treatment. Doing so can be difficult, since the pancreas is often obscured by other organs, and since it is possible to move around the abdominal area. As a result, physicians sometimes need to deploy radiation treatment with an "error circle" that ensures they'll hit the pancreas, but that can kill some healthy cells as collateral damage.
Jain's algorithm could relieve some of those problems by helping doctors locate the pancreas with precision.
"In the radiotherapy treatment where radiation is applied to kill tumor cells, my tool tracks the pancreas in the scan itself," Jain explains. "When the radiation hits, it hits the pancreas accurately and efficiently so it can help treat the tumor much more effectively."
Jain, who took home the Young Scientist Challenge's $ 25,000 prize for his idea, says he first became involved in pancreatic cancer last year during a trip to Boston, and became even more passionate when a family friend died of cancer. "[In Boston] I learned about the low survival and how deadly the disease was, "Jain says. "I'm also into programming, so I was learning about artificial intelligence. I decided to combine the two areas into a real-world problem using artificial intelligence. "
With help from 3M mentor scientist Dr. Döne Demirgöz, Jain's work paid off this week in Minnesota. He says he can work with existing hospitals, or be incorporated directly into new machines. He is currently in touch with doctors at both local Oregon and big-name National Hospitals – including Johns Hopkins Hospital and Memorial Kettering Sloan Cancer Center – in hopes of fine-tuning and ultimately implementing his idea.
For now, he says he will use his winnings to advance his machine learning project and fund the nonprofit he created, Samyak Science Society, which is meant to promote STEM learning for "other children who can not have that opportunity like I did," and raise pancreatic cancer awareness. He says he will also be able to study at a college fund, so he can study to become a biomedical engineer or a doctor.
"For undergraduate, I'm not sure sure yet," Jain says. "But I'm thinking of maybe biomedical engineering, because it has both fields in it. Biomedical engineering and then probably medical school to become a doctor. "
Of course, the middle schooler has some time to figure it out – and in the meantime, he's got plenty of ways to fill his time.
"I flew back to Portland [after I won], so I went to my school to visit my teachers and tell them about the news, "Jain says. "And also catch up on homework."
Source link
