ERC grant: AI supports leukemia experts

How can artificial intelligence (AI) support manual inspection of leukemia patients’ blood samples? A research team led by Carsten Marr is investigating this question in the newly ERC-funded project LeukoScreen. The goal of the researchers: To develop an AI-based software, that decreases the diagnosis-to-treatment time of critical leukemia cases at reduced costs and staffing. In fact, for aggressive blood cancer, immediate diagnosis can determine life or death.

Currently, the diagnostic state-of-the-art is a manual examination of a patient’s blood smears under the microscope by trained experts, called cytomorphologists. However, this process is prone to human error and very time-consuming. With their AI-based software, the team around Carsten Marr and MLL, the largest leukemia laboratory in Europe, want to change the paradigm of cytologic workflow. The researchers expect LeukoScreen to support clinical decisions and drastically increase diagnostic speed and accuracy, benefit patient survival and free up valuable expert time. Together, the researchers and the MLL will also develop a commercialization strategy for the exploitation of their results.

About the ERC Proof of Concept Grant

Research generates new ideas, that drive innovation, and business inventiveness and tackle societal challenges. The ERC Proof of Concept Grant aims at facilitating exploration of the commercial and social innovation potential of ERC funded research and is therefore made available to researchers, who already have an ERC award. Through the project, they are able to establish proof of concept of an idea that was generated in the course of their ERC-funded projects.