Dive Brief:
- Researchers at University of California, Davis taught pigeons to identify cancerous breast tissue in X-ray and microscopic imagery. After just two weeks of rewarding the pigeons with food for correct identification, the birds picked the right choice 85% of the time.
- The researchers, led by Dr. Richard Levenson, presented the pigeons with an image of breast tissue along with two choices representing benign or malignant. The pigeons indicated their choice by pecking.
- While this seems to be merely a fun experiment, the results might help develop medical imaging software. The birds could be used to more rapidly evaluate the accuracy of new technology.
Dive Insight:
Levenson and company presented their findings in a paper published in PLOS One. Inspired by pigeons' image detection capabilities, the researchers showed the birds an image of either malignant or benign breast tissue. A blue and a yellow bar were placed on either side of the image to represent the two choices. Once the pigeons pecked a color, their choice was recorded.
If the pigeons correctly chose blue or yellow based on the image, they were rewarded with pellets of food. At the outset, the pigeons were correct about 50% of the time, as one would expect from pure chance. However, after 15 days of conditioning, the pigeons chose correctly 85% of the time.
The pigeons were especially adept at identifying breast images with micro-calcifications, which can indicate breast cancer. The researchers hypothesized detecting the small white specks might be akin to searching for seeds in the grass. The capabilities shown by the pigeons could help with verifying the accuracy of new medical imaging technology. Understanding the patterns the pigeons are relying on to make their choice might also point researchers to new areas for further study.