From the November 2018 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
In the future, AI and machine learning will play an even larger role in augmenting the radiologist’s role in diagnosis with algorithms that go beyond pattern recognition and other basic forms of AI available today. These first steps in image analysis are important, however, as they are the groundwork for what will come over the next decade as artificial intelligence provides a different type of AI – Actionable Insights.
Greater advancements will occur as we realize the potential of precision medicine. Disparate data sets, including imaging, will be connected in a more intelligent manner. Analysis of anatomical and physiological data from X-rays will be augmented by AI that brings a patient’s genetic profile, familial history, risk factors and more into a comprehensive analysis, providing the radiologist with greater insights. As these intelligent analytics mature, it will be possible to compare the individual to the universe of patients with similar characteristics to provide more predictive and prescriptive personalized patient care. It’s where DR meets DNA. And it’s the future. Radiologists have the chance to be at the forefront of this transformation.
Think about the universe of possibilities to facilitate better decisions, sooner. The clinical benefit of directly visualizing physiological changes with low-cost and readily available X-ray. The potential cost savings made possible by these advancements through the reduced need for more advanced and costly imaging techniques. And, globally, enabling more advanced diagnostic capabilities in less advantaged regions of the world where X-ray is common but MRI, CT and nuclear medicine are not. The ability to achieve higher-quality individualized care, with greater access at a lower cost using DR, is in sight.
About the Author: Kirsten Doerfert is senior vice president of marketing at Konica Minolta Healthcare.
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