While routine screening has been shown to decrease breast cancer mortality in multiple randomized controlled trials, mammography is limited by subjective human interpretation. Recent advances in improved computer processing power, cloud-based data storage capabilities, and availability of large imaging datasets have led to renewed excitement for applying artificial intelligence (AI) to mammography interpretation.

Stroke is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in the United States, with approximately 795,000 Americans experiencing a new or recurrent stroke each year. Intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV tPA) is the dominant and most proven treatment option, but its use is only indicated within 4.5 hours following a stroke. Unfortunately, up to 30% of stroke patients present with an unknown time since stroke (TSS) symptom onset, which makes them ineligible to receive IV tPA.

The rollout of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) lung screening programs is accelerating in the United States, aiming for earlier detection of lung cancer to improve long-term survival. However, a consequence of such imaging programs is the increased discovery of indeterminate pulmonary nodules (IPNs). Significant questions remain around the effective management of screen- and incidentally-detected IPNs: while many are benign, a fraction will go on to become cancerous.

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, accounting for 26% of new cancer diagnoses and 9% of cancer deaths in men. Active surveillance, radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy are commonly used treatments for clinically localized prostate cancer. However, current risk stratification methods cannot be used effectively to avoid subjecting patients with clinically indolent cancers to unnecessary interventions, causing significant morbidity and cost.

Intracranial aneurysms (ICAs) are an increasingly common finding, both from incidental discovery on imaging studies and on autopsy; it is estimated that anywhere from 1-6% of the American population will develop this problem. Unfortunately, while our ability to detect ICAs has grown, our fundamental understanding of this disease entity remains lacking and significant debate continues in regards to its treatment.

Each year, almost half of all diagnosed primary brain tumors in the United States are Grade IV glioblastoma multiforme (GBMs). While recent efforts have begun to uncover the genetic pathways involved in this cancer’s etiology – and potential methods for treatment – arguably, no specific prognostic model has arisen (and been sufficiently validated) to provide widespread usability and individually tailored predictions about a patient’s prognosis, let alone suggest optimal treatment.

To meet ever-increasing computing needs and overcome power density limitations, the computing industry halted simple processor frequency scaling and entered the era of parallelization, with tens to hundreds of computing cores integrated in a single processor, and hundreds to thousands of computing servers connected in a warehouse-scale data center. However, such highly parallel, general-purpose computing systems still face serious challenges in terms of performance, power, heat dissipation, space, and cost.