The Eye of Horus: Enhancing Head and Neck Cancer Care with Computer Vision

BackgroundHead and neck cancer (HNC) poses formidable treatment challenges globally due to complex anatomy, image interpretation difficulties, and other obstacles, despite extensive research. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), particularly computer vision (CV), have demonstrated substantial potential in improving HNC management, yielding notable progress.MethodsWe conducted a narrative review through massive literature research to explore the applications of CV in HNC and try to discuss its advantages as well as disadvantages through comparison.ResultsWe summarize the applications and cutting-edge advances of CV in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction in HNC, synthesize the concepts and workflow of CV and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of it. Additionally, we bridge the gap among healthcare professionals and AI researchers to promote the development of relevant fields jointly.ConclusionsCV holds great promise in HNC. We should continually deepen cooperation and exchanges among healthcare professionals and AI researchers, thereby fostering the continuous development of CV in the treatment of HNC. With the continuous optimization of algorithms, the application of CV in HNC will become even more extensive.