The use of AI in various fields in life has led to much debate, not always well-informed, about whether this offers great opportunities and potential benefits or poses a threat, perhaps in the manner of the self-aware Skynet defence system that wages war on humanity in the Terminator films.
MRI scans are all about saving lives, not terminating them, with proponents believing AI can help guide where to scan and help assess the details of the scans and spot anomalies sooner. As such, it may make radiography jobs easier and more effective. But whether patients will be convinced this is a good thing is another matter.
The issue was raised by the University of Auckland in New Zealand, which, partnering with colleagues from Australia and France, surveyed 619 radiography patients to establish what they thought of the idea of having AI-guided brain scans.
Publishing the findings this month, the university did not describe them in percentages of ‘for’ or ‘against’, but a more subtle analysis based on the comments of patients, with several expressing concerns that different radiographers gave varied opinions over similar scans.
A picture that emerged was that patients came to have greater confidence in AI when its usefulness was explained to them, with some who were knowledgeable about it expressing approval because it appeared to be more effective than humans in spotting issues.
As Science X reported this month, some have taken the issue further, highlighting how an ongoing study at Ghent University has emphasised that AI adoption is not just about technical matters, but ethics too. It highlighted areas of dignity, patient autonomy and accountability among ethical issues, alongside broader legal matters of consent.
This may turn out to be a storm in a teacup, with anyone having an ethical or other objection to AI use in medicine perhaps being in a small (but possibly vocal) minority in the manner of vaccine sceptics. However, there may yet be work to be done to ensure that its adoption in radiography has widespread confidence and consent from patients everywhere.