Artificial intelligence shows promise in mitigating radiologist bias

"Artificial intelligence may serve as a useful tool for mitigating radiologist bias when interpreting images, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports [1].

CT has value in helping physicians assess patients suffering from COVID-19 (though some have criticized this practice). Quantification of pneumonia, in particular, may help to predict treatment course and outcomes, but it is “heavily reliant” on a radiologists’ subjective perceptions, Romanian researchers wrote March 25.

A survey of 40 radiologists—along with a retrospective analysis of CT data from 109 patients treated at two hospitals—showed that members of the specialty often overestimate lung involvement. To fix this, scientists conducted a randomized control trial using AI-based clinical decision support.

This was found to reduce any absolute overestimation error from 9.5% ± 6.6 down to 1% ± 5.2, the investigation found.

“These results indicate a human perception bias in radiology that has clinically meaningful effects on the quantitative analysis of COVID-19 on CT,” Bogdan A. Bercean, with Politehnica University of Timișoara in Romania, and colleagues advised. “The objectivity of AI was shown to be a valuable complement in mitigating the radiologist’s subjectivity, reducing the overestimation tenfold.”..." Lire la suite