Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic's research team is developing an artificial intelligence-based tool that can help pathologists detect problems in kidney transplants, Post Bulletin reported April 1.
The tool will act as a second review of biopsies and will identify specific objects in images such as glomeruli, which can detect if a patient has kidney damage.
"If you have damage within your glomeruli, then that means you have damage generally within your kidney and you're going to have kidney trouble — kidney failure or some sort of elevated lab values," Byron Smith, PhD, a biostatistician at Mayo Clinic told Post Bulletin.
The tool can also detect signs of inflammation in the tissue, which could alert clinicians if a patient's immune system is attacking their donated kidney.
The AI's findings, according to the health system, could help clinicians determine if treatment to prevent kidney transplant rejection is working for that particular patient.