Innovation sometimes comes from strange places, even the unexpectedly young. Wenger is a 17-year-old who has won the grand prize at Google Science Fair 2012, for an amazing use of artificial intelligence. The whiz kid from Florida has created an artificial brain for assessing signs of breast cancer, providing more confidence to a minimally invasive procedure.

“I came across artificial intelligence and was just enthralled. I went home the next day and bought a programming book and decided that was what I was going to teach myself to do”, Wenger said.

Thousands of entries were received in the Google online science fair from around 100 countries, out of which Google picked 15 finalists. Wenger’s project uses artificial intelligence and neural networks to allow doctors use the minimally invasive procedure, called Fine Needle Aspirate and simplify the process of examining tissues or lumps. What motivated Wenger to develop this technology is her keen interest in artificial intelligence and a zeal to help cure breast cancer patients in a timely manner, especially because one of her family members also suffers from this affliction.

“I taught the computer how to diagnose breast cancer. And this is really important because currently the least invasive form of biopsy is actually the least conclusive, so a lot of doctors can’t use them. Early detection is really important. And that is what I’m trying to do with my neural network”, noted Wenger.

Wenger created a neural network with Java and deployed it to the cloud. She ran 7.6 million trials and discovered 99.1 percent sensitivity to malignancy. According to her, the project is ready to be used by hospitals. With minor coding and some data trials, it can be used for other medical problems and cancer types as well. For this accomplishment, Google has awarded the little whiz with $50,000 in scholarship money, an internship with a fair sponsor and a 10-day trip to the Galapagos Islands.

[Image Credit: Google.]