Fortune has named Alibaba Group to its 10th annual Change the World List for its AI-powered tool for detecting pancreatic cancer lesions, developed by Alibaba Group's research institute, DAMO Academy. Alibaba secured the 8th position on the final list of 52 global leading companies, making it the only Chinese company in the top 10. A team of Fortune editors selected the list from a pool of 250 nominees.
The Change the World List recognizes leaders who drive innovations, address social issues, and achieve profitability. Fortune Executive Features Editor Matt Heimer stated, "These companies let their actions speak for themselves—harnessing the creative impulses of capitalism to address social problems and generating revenue while doing so."
Alibaba earned its spot for its groundbreaking cancer screening tool, PANDA, developed by the medical AI team at DAMO Academy. The tool expedites the diagnosis of cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions, making it faster and more cost-effective.
"Our goal is to leverage AI to cover the entire cancer treatment process—from early detection to diagnosis with great precision and accessibility. Our cloud-based solution empowers patients who might not have access to cancer screening due to the scarcity or high costs associated with expert medical care," said Le Lu, head of DAMO's medical AI team.
The deep learning-based model can detect cancerous and pre-cancerous lesions in the pancreas by examining non-contrast CT scans, a more efficient form of medical imaging used worldwide with a lower dose of radiation than contrast CT scans.
According to a study published in *Nature Medicine* by DAMO Academy in collaboration with over ten medical institutions, PANDA is 34.1% more sensitive than radiologists in picking up abnormalities in screening scans.
So far, it has achieved significant progress in the early detection of seven common cancers through a single CT scan, including pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, liver cancer, gastric cancer, and colorectal cancer. It was deployed earlier this year at two hospitals in Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, on China's east coast, to examine CT scans for signs of cancer.
"We'll continue to leverage technology and strategic partnerships with hospitals to make healthcare services more accessible, comprehensive, accurate, cost-effective, and efficient," Lu added.
Earlier this year, DAMO Academy announced its partnership with the WHO Collaborating Center on Digital Health to advance innovations in digital health and bring the benefits of medical AI to more developing countries. The partnership will leverage their respective resources to conduct research and provide advisory in digital health, artificial intelligence, and industrial development to support international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the International Telecommunication Union.
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