Chest X-ray (CXR) is one of the most common radiological examinations for both nonemergent and emergent clinical indications, but human error or lack of prioritization of patients can hinder timely interpretation. Deep learning (DL) algorithms have proven to be useful in the assessment of various abnormalities including tuberculosis, lung parenchymal lesions, or pneumothorax. The deep learning–based automatic detection algorithm (DLAD) was developed to detect visual patterns on CXR for 12 preselected findings. To evaluate the proposed system, we designed a single-site retrospective study comparing the DL algorithm with the performance of five differently experienced radiologists. On the assessed dataset (n = 127) collected from the municipal hospital in the Czech Republic, DLAD achieved a sensitivity (Se) of 0.925 and specificity (Sp) of 0.644, compared to bootstrapped radiologists’ Se of 0.661 and Sp of 0.803, respectively, with statistically significant difference. The negative likelihood ratio (NLR) of the proposed software (0.12 (0.04–0.32)) was significantly lower than radiologists’ assessment (0.42 (0.4–0.43), p < 0.0001). No critical findings were missed by the software.
The evaluation of mammographic breast density, a critical indicator of breast cancer risk, is traditionally performed by radiologists via visual inspection of mammography images, utilizing the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) breast density categories. However, this method is subject to substantial interobserver variability, leading to inconsistencies and potential inaccuracies in density assessment and subsequent risk estimations. To address this, we present a deep learning-based automatic detection algorithm (DLAD) designed for the automated evaluation of breast density. Our multicentric, multi-reader study leverages a diverse dataset of 122 full-field digital mammography studies (488 images in CC and MLO projections) sourced from three institutions. We invited two experienced radiologists to conduct a retrospective analysis, establishing a ground truth for 72 mammography studies (BI-RADS class A: 18, BI-RADS class B: 43, BI-RADS class C: 7, BI-RADS class D: 4). The efficacy of the DLAD was then compared to the performance of five independent radiologists with varying levels of experience. The DLAD showed robust performance, achieving an accuracy of 0.819 (95% CI: 0.736–0.903), along with an F1 score of 0.798 (0.594–0.905), precision of 0.806 (0.596–0.896), recall of 0.830 (0.650–0.946), and a Cohen’s Kappa () of 0.708 (0.562–0.841). The algorithm achieved robust performance that matches and in four cases exceeds that of individual radiologists. The statistical analysis did not reveal a significant difference in accuracy between DLAD and the radiologists, underscoring the model’s competitive diagnostic alignment with professional radiologist assessments. These results demonstrate that the deep learning-based automatic detection algorithm can enhance the accuracy and consistency of breast density assessments, offering a reliable tool for improving breast cancer screening outcomes.
Chest X-ray (CXR) is considered to be the most widely used modality for detecting and monitoring various thoracic findings, including lung carcinoma and other pulmonary lesions. However, X-ray imaging shows particular limitations when detecting primary and secondary tumors and is prone to reading errors due to limited resolution and disagreement between radiologists. To address these issues, we developed a deep-learning-based automatic detection algorithm (DLAD) to automatically detect and localize suspicious lesions on CXRs. Five radiologists were invited to retrospectively evaluate 300 CXR images from a specialized oncology center, and the performance of individual radiologists was subsequently compared with that of DLAD. The proposed DLAD achieved significantly higher sensitivity (0.910 (0.854–0.966)) than that of all assessed radiologists (RAD 10.290 (0.201–0.379), p < 0.001, RAD 20.450 (0.352–0.548), p < 0.001, RAD 30.670 (0.578–0.762), p < 0.001, RAD 40.810 (0.733–0.887), p = 0.025, RAD 50.700 (0.610–0.790), p < 0.001). The DLAD specificity (0.775 (0.717–0.833)) was significantly lower than for all assessed radiologists (RAD 11.000 (0.984–1.000), p < 0.001, RAD 20.970 (0.946–1.000), p < 0.001, RAD 30.980 (0.961–1.000), p < 0.001, RAD 40.975 (0.953–0.997), p < 0.001, RAD 50.995 (0.985–1.000), p < 0.001). The study results demonstrate that the proposed DLAD could be utilized as a decision-support system to reduce radiologists’ false negative rate.
Melanoma is considered to be the most aggressive form of skin cancer. Due to the similar shape of malignant and benign cancerous lesions, doctors spend considerably more time when diagnosing these findings. At present, the evaluation of malignancy is performed primarily by invasive histological examination of the suspicious lesion. Developing an accurate classifier for early and efficient detection can minimize and monitor the harmful effects of skin cancer and increase patient survival rates. This paper proposes a multi-class classification task using the CoAtNet architecture, a hybrid model that combines the depthwise convolution matrix operation of traditional convolutional neural networks with the strengths of Transformer models and self-attention mechanics to achieve better generalization and capacity. The proposed multi-class classifier achieves an overall precision of 0.901, recall 0.895, and AP 0.923, indicating high performance compared to other state-of-the-art networks.
This study evaluates the economic and operational impact of implementing AIdriven solutions in radiology, focusing on workflow optimization and cost reduction in the evaluation of low-risk chest X-rays. Building on previous findings that demonstrated a 62.82% reduction in reporting time with AI-generated reports compared to manual methods, this study expands the analysis to quantify the potential financial benefits. A costminimization analysis indicates that AI adoption could result in annual savings of up to 127,228 CZK per radiologist. For an average facility with 5.45 radiologists, the estimated total annual savings could reach 693,396 CZK. The study highlights AI's role in alleviating radiologists' workload by automating routine evaluations, enabling them to focus on complex diagnostic tasks. Furthermore, the financial feasibility of AI implementation was assessed across various salary levels and facility sizes, demonstrating its scalability and adaptability in radiological workflows. Future research should explore the long-term impacts on diagnostic quality, resource allocation, and healthcare system sustainability.