A team of researchers in Boston has created an algorithm capable of analyzing a photo and estimating how “aging” you are in reality, not after the bulletin, but after health.
A new tool you estimate the biological age and the chances of photo survival: Archive
Researchers at Mass General Brigham in Boston have developed Faceage, an artificial intelligence tool that analyzes a photo, even a selfie, to determine the biological age, that is, the real state of health, not the age of the bulletin, according to The Washington Post.
This information can help doctors decide whether a patient, especially an oncological, is healthy for aggressive treatments. Soon, the algorithm will be tested on a group of 50 patients.
Faceage was trained with 59,000 photos of healthy people, most of the Wikipedia and IMDB. Then it was tested on 6,200 cancer patients. The study shows that they seemed about five years older biologically than their real age. The older the face seemed, the worse the prognosis.
Does not replace the doctor but can help him
Eight doctors have been asked to estimate if patients with terminal cancer will survive six months. When they had only the patient’s photo, the accuracy rate was about 61%. When they were offered the photo and clinical information, the precision increased to 74%. However, when they also used the data generated by Faceage, next to the medical record, the accuracy reached 80%.
“Doctors can predict life expectancy with a little better precision than throwing a coin, if they only have the photo,Said Raymond Mak, co -author of the study.
Mak reported the case of an 86-year-old patient with lung cancer, which he decided to treat him aggressively because “He looked younger”Faces later confirmed the intuition, the patient had a biological age over 10 years younger. Today, at 90, he still feels good.
The researchers say that Faceage should not replace the doctor’s decision, but provide an objective criterion.
Future challenges
The authors recognize that if it receives the approval of the FDA, the technology will have to be ethically regulated to prevent abusive use. They mention that factors like light, makeup, skin or cosmetic surgery can influence the result. “This technology can do good but also bad,Said Hugo Aerts, a coordinator of the study.
