journal article·2026-01-13Open access

Improved Multisource Image-Based Diagnostic for Thyroid Cancer Detection: ANTHEM National Complementary Plan Research Project

Domenico Parmeggiani, Alessio Cece, Massimo Agresti, Francesco Miele, Pasquale Luongo, Giancarlo Moccia, Francesco Torelli, Rossella Sperlongano, Paola Bassi, Mehrdad Savabi Far, Shima Tajabadi, Agostino Fernicola, Marina Di Domenico, Federica Colapietra, Paola Della Monica, Stefano Avenia, Ludovico Docimo

Applied Sciences· Volume 16· Issue 2

Abstract

Thyroid nodule evaluation relies heavily on ultrasound imaging, yet it suffers from significant inter-operator variability. To address this, we present a preliminary validation of the Synergy-Net platform, an AI-driven Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) system designed to standardize acquisition and improve diagnostic accuracy. The system integrates a U-Net architecture for anatomical segmentation and a ResNet-50 classifier for lesion characterization within a Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) workflow. The study enrolled 110 patients (71 benign, 39 malignant) undergoing surgery. Performance was evaluated against histopathological ground truth. The system achieved an Accuracy of 90.35% (95% CI: 88.2–92.5%), Sensitivity of 90.64% (95% CI: 87.9–93.4%), and an AUC of 0.90. Furthermore, the framework introduces a multimodal approach, performing late fusion of imaging features with genomic profiles (TruSight One panel). While current results validate the 2D diagnostic pipeline, the discussion outlines the transition to the ANTHEM framework, incorporating future 3D volumetric analysis and digital pathology integration. These findings suggest that AI-assisted standardization can significantly enhance diagnostic precision, though multi-center validation remains necessary.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline

Research context

OpenAlex topics: AI in cancer detection · Thyroid Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment · Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare and Education

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

D.A.I. in Surgery, Orthopedy and Hepato-Gastroenterology, Universitary Policlinico “L. Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy

Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania “L. Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy

Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80138 Naples, Italy

Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Perugia, 06100 Perugia, Italy

Department of General and Specialistic Surgery, Universitary Policlinico “Luigi Vanvitelli”, 80138 Naples, Italy

Funding

ANTHEM

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