Oncode Institute: AI technology helps to identify brain tumor type during surgery

In the Netherlands, 1,400 adults and 150 children are diagnosed with a tumor in the brain or spinal cord every year. Surgery is often the first step taken in treatment. Currently, during surgery, neurosurgeons do not precisely know what type of brain tumor and what degree of aggressiveness they are dealing with. The exact diagnosis will usually only be available one week after surgery, after the tumor tissue has been visually and molecularly analyzed by a pathologist. Oncode Researchers from UMC Utrecht have developed a new ‘deep-learning algorithm’, a form of artificial intelligence, which significantly speeds up the diagnosis.
Read more about this news on the website of Oncode Institute.

Lygature supports external communication
Lygature’s communications team supports Oncode Institute with several communication activities, including PR and media outreach. For this project, the Lygature communications team worked together with UMC Utrecht, Amsterdam UMC and the Prinses Máxima Center for children oncology to create and execute the external communication strategy of this important research milestone. The media outreach included the co-creation of a press release for the media, a website news item and social media posts. The team also produced video, where Oncode Investigator Jeroen de Ridder explains the research results and the added value of Oncode Institute in laymen terms. 

International media coverage
These efforts resulted in widespread, international media coverage about the research, including interviews with the New York Times, NRC, Algemeen Dagblad and Genomeweb.