Fri, 17 Jan 2025

How AI can spot diseases that doctors aren't looking for

AI can take a second look at medical scans and flag up potential problems that doctors might not see.

* A 58-year-old man was diagnosed with osteoporosis after an abdominal CT scan using artificial intelligence (AI) technology identified a collapsed vertebra in his spine.
* The AI technology, developed by Israeli company Nanox.AI, is being used to opportunistically screen for diseases such as osteoporosis, heart disease, and fatty liver disease in routine CT scans.
* The technology has the potential to catch previously undiagnosed diseases in their early stages, when they are easier to treat or prevent from progressing.
* Experts note that regular physicals or blood tests often fail to pick up these diseases, and that AI can reduce bias in diagnosis.
* The algorithms are trained on thousands of previous scans and must include data from a diverse range of ethnic groups to be effective.
* Human review is still required before results are reported to doctors.
* Results from Oxford hospitals show an up to six-fold increase in the number of patients identified with vertebral fractures, which can lead to osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment.
* Further trials of the algorithm are underway at hospitals in Cambridge, Cardiff, Nottingham, and Southampton.
* While the technology has potential benefits, it also raises concerns about the extra patient numbers it creates and the demand on healthcare resources.
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