Houston Methodist researchers Jenny Chang, MD, the Emily Herrmann Presidential Distinguished Chair in Cancer Research and director of the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center, and Stephen T.C. Wong, PhD, developed the Breast Cancer Risk Calculator (BRISK) to provide precise risk assessments to reduce overdiagnosis and unnecessary biopsies after an abnormal mammogram. Using BRISK, oncologists and radiologists can more accurately determine whether to biopsy breast tissue of this subgroup. Their results were published in JCO: Clinical Cancer Informatics and demonstrate that BRISK can effectively identify faint pathogenic patterns and generate a more accurate risk score for better-informed biopsy decisions after abnormal mammograms.

Diagnosing a stroke quickly in the emergency department is crucial. To best utilize the most effective stroke treatments and improve patient outcomes, it’s critical to find an effective and rapid stroke diagnostic tool. Toward this end, John Volpi, MD, associate professor of clinical neurology, and his team at Houston Methodist collaborated with researchers at Pennsylvania State University to develop a mobile app that uses a machine learning algorithm for computer-aided evaluation of facial movement weaknesses and speech ability to determine the presence of stroke in patients. Their data indicate that the app’s diagnostic capability is comparable to that of emergency room health care providers. Most notable, assessment using the app takes less than four minutes. The tool could be used by emergency room professionals, caregivers or patients themselves to make assessments and more quickly determine critical next steps. This would give patients a key advantage in surviving and successfully recovering from a stroke.