Helping discover tumour cells with a game

There are about 350 pathologists in the Netherlands, dealing with more than 100,000 possible cases of cancer each year. To assess whether a patient has cancer and what treatment is best, a pathologist must examine microscopic images of tissue. Pathologists are trained in this for years, but there is also a huge shortage of these trained people. Here is where we’re aiming to help: by using a ‘citizen science game’.

This initiative was launched in collaboration with Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands Cancer Institute. We are currently in the prototype phase. In the game, players get to see a picture of human tissue. They can then indicate in the picture which are tumour cells and which are immune cells. The final minigame can be integrated into larger games, but can also be played as a stand-alone game on a phone or on a computer. Player input into the game trains an artificial intelligence model, which ultimately helps pathologists to make diagnoses faster and better. The aim is to be able to quickly recognize cancer in patients and to be able to offer appropriate and effective treatments.