X-rays that are positive for fracture can be quickly detected by a new AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm, thereby improving the care by reducing patient waiting time and diagnostic errors as per a study at the Boston University School of Medicine, published in the journal Radiology.
Emergency room and urgent care clinics are typically busy and patients often have to wait many hours before they can be seen, evaluated, and receive treatment. Fracture interpretation errors represents up to 24% of harmful diagnostic errors seen in the emergency department.
‘X-rays that are positive for fracture can be quickly detected by a new AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm, thereby improving the care by reducing patient waiting time and diagnostic errors.’
Hence, adding on to a longer wait time for x-rays interpretation by the radiologists may add to the burden. The present study may thereby help physicians in interpreting x-rays after an injury and suspected fracture through artificial intelligence (AI).
“Our AI algorithm can quickly and automatically detect x-rays that are positive for fractures and flag those studies in the system so that radiologists can prioritize reading x-rays with positive fractures. The system also highlights regions of interest with bounding boxes around areas where fractures are suspected. This can potentially contribute to less waiting time at the time of hospital or clinic visit before patients can get a positive diagnosis of fracture,” says corresponding Ali Guermazi, MD, PhD, chief of radiology at VA Boston Healthcare System and Professor of Radiology & Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM).
Source: Medindia