The BBC’s report that AI is helping doctors to read scans is very exciting news.
I have been interested in this subject since an investigation I was involved in five years ago. We looked into a backlog in reading scans at a large hospital and talked to a number of radiologists.
I learnt that reading scans is hard work. It involves spending hours sitting at a computer screen looking closely at images - all in the knowledge that missing something could have serious consequences for an individual.
Clearly a system that can spot cancer at least as well as a doctor is very welcome.
More than that, however, is the fact that this frees up radiologists to spend more time talking to patients.
While we all might be happy to have our scans read by a machine, we definitely want to talk to someone about what the results mean, what the next steps are and what our prospects are. The personal touch remains essential.
This is the exciting potential of AI. Not that it will replace people, but that it will free people up to do what they are really good at.
Here's hoping!
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