American scientists Mark Griswold and Julie Love have developed the Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting technique, an MRI capable of reducing the period for evaluating the efficacy of chemotherapy from six months to just one week. The algorithms that allow it, created by Microsoft’s quantum computing team, also deliver scans up to three times faster. The use of innovative technology-based techniques continues to reduce cancer mortality, which continues to be the second leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization.
The group of researchers from the Case Western Reserve University in the USA has developed this scanner system for the rapid and accurate diagnosis of diseases, which is a great computational challenge and requires innovative approaches. The Case Western Reserve researchers found the solution to this problem in algorithms created by Microsoft’s quantum computing team.
These algorithms, created to take advantage of the quantum computers of the future in conventional computers, are based on the principles of quantum physics to solve extremely complex computational problems. They are also very useful when we talk about scenarios in which the objective is to optimize the operation of complex systems, since this usually requires a computing power that exceeds the limits of current technology. These advances can help physicians detect cancer and other tissue-affecting pathologies at an earlier stage of the disease and thus avoid more invasive procedures, such as biopsies.
Much higher precision
Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting is a technique that provides physicians interpreting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with great precision in evaluating tissue properties, rather than relying solely on their experience or standard procedures. The added value of MRF is based on the possibility of identifying which, among an exponentially immense universe of possible radio frequency pulse sequences, will produce scans fast and with sufficient precision to distinguish between healthy tissue and different pathological manifestations. Because each sequence is made up of numerous individual pulses, which can vary in angle, intensity, or duration individually, the number of potential sequences for complex captures is immense. So much so, that it rivals the number of atoms in the visible universe.
Pulse sequences taken by Microsoft’s optimization algorithms provide scans up to three times faster than previous ones. The use of these algorithms increases performance, reduces costs and improves access to diagnostics that can save lives, especially considering that the use of conventional Magnetic Resonance Imaging alone can drastically lengthen waiting times.
MRF scans can detect changes in tissues such as those in the brain, which are invisible with conventional methods, but which are more clinically significant than the changes that doctors can evaluate today. All of this can help to better predict how the disease will progress in a patient or to determine if new drugs are effective in combating diseases such as multiple sclerosis and epilepsy. Currently, the technique is already used in a dozen university medical centers, and wider adoption is expected in the coming years.
Microsoft continues to advance in the development of quantum computing also through the Microsoft Quantum Network, a network that allows collaboration between companies, startups and people who want to research innovative services inspired by quantum technology. The greatest advantage of quantum-inspired algorithms is that they already allow research to be accelerated, using the Microsoft Azure cloud or conventional computers, while the development of specific hardware continues, which will represent a very relevant qualitative leap.
