Colposcopy, a vital method for the diagnosis of cervical pathology, hinges primarily on the visual cues to detect abnormalities and designate regions for biopsies. The conventional method often includes the use of Acetic acid (5%) for highlighting the cells’ nucleus and hence revealing abnormal or pre-cancerous cells, while green filters aid in visualizing blood vessels supplying these regions. However, vast variations in individual practitioner’s experience and expertise may lead to ununiformed assessments.

This research proposal aims to bridge this gap introducing deep learning algorithms, which have shown unprecedented success in image recognition and classification tasks, into colposcopic examinations [1]. The utilization of these machine learning methodologies could allow automatic detection of cancerous or precancerous regions in colposcopic images or videos, automating and standardizing the evaluation process while offering real-time feedback and suggestions during the examination.

Contact: abdul.kadir@dfki.de

Relevant literature:

[1] Chandran V, Sumithra MG, Karthick A, George T, Deivakani M, Elakkiya B, Subramaniam U, Manoharan S. Diagnosis of Cervical Cancer based on Ensemble Deep Learning Network using Colposcopy Images. Biomed Res Int. 2021 May 4;2021:5584004. doi: 10.1155/2021/5584004. PMID: 33997017; PMCID: PMC8112909.