Blog: Artifical Intelligence is helping to diagnose fractures

Written by Medical Negligence Solicitor, Jennifer Argent

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising healthcare.

Deep learning is progressing on an exponential level with a number of medical experts predicting it could even shape the future of radiology.

In basic terms, deep learning is computer learning based on a neural network similar to the human brain.

As a result, AI now recognises data patterns with greater efficiency.

Bradley J Erikson, Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Minnesota, believes AI is already positively impacting radiology.

AI can find information in images that is not perceived by humans – things like molecular markers in tumors.

The benefits this will bring to patients are significant.

Tumour and fracture diagnosis will be quicker and lead to earlier and less invasive treatment.

It will also differentiate ‘cancer’ from ‘non-cancer’ with greater speed and accuracy than the human eye.

However, AI is not yet in use on a large scale.

In terms of accuracy and speed there are still areas to fine tune.

So, for now at least, physicians can work with developers to ensure any future use of AI will be safe and effective. 

Early adopters will work cautiously to avoid an overreliance on a system still in its infancy.

As for the long-term, I expect AI will revolutionise patient care and potentially reduce waiting times and increase accuracy in diagnosis.