Effects of a comprehensive brain computed tomography deep learning model on radiologist detection accuracy.

OBJECTIVES: Non-contrast computed tomography of the brain (NCCTB) is commonly used to detect intracranial pathology but is subject to interpretation errors. Machine learning can augment clinical decision-making and improve NCCTB scan interpretation. This retrospective detection accuracy study assessed the performance of radiologists assisted by a deep learning model and compared the standalone performance of the model with that of unassisted radiologists. METHODS: A deep learning model was trained on 212,484 NCCTB scans drawn from a private radiology group in Australia. Scans from inpatient, outpatient, and emergency settings were included. Scan inclusion criteria were age ≥ 18 years and series slice thickness ≤ 1.5 mm. Thirty-two radiologists reviewed 2848 scans with and without the assistance of the deep learning system and rated their confidence in the presence of each finding using a 7-point scale. Differences in AUC and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) were calculated using a ground-truth gold standard. RESULTS: The model demonstrated an average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.93 across 144 NCCTB findings and significantly improved radiologist interpretation performance. Assisted and unassisted radiologists demonstrated an average AUC of 0.79 and 0.73 across 22 grouped parent findings and 0.72 and 0.68 across 189 child findings, respectively. When assisted by the model, radiologist AUC was significantly improved for 91 findings (158 findings were non-inferior), and reading time was significantly reduced. CONCLUSIONS: The assistance of a comprehensive deep learning model significantly improved radiologist detection accuracy across a wide range of clinical findings and demonstrated the potential to improve NCCTB interpretation. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: This study evaluated a comprehensive CT brain deep learning model, which performed strongly, improved the performance of radiologists, and reduced interpretation time. The model may reduce errors, improve efficiency, facilitate triage, and better enable the delivery of timely patient care. KEY POINTS: • This study demonstrated that the use of a comprehensive deep learning system assisted radiologists in the detection of a wide range of abnormalities on non-contrast brain computed tomography scans. • The deep learning model demonstrated an average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.93 across 144 findings and significantly improved radiologist interpretation performance. • The assistance of the comprehensive deep learning model significantly reduced the time required for radiologists to interpret computed tomography scans of the brain.

Charting the potential of brain computed tomography deep learning systems.

Brain computed tomography (CTB) scans are widely used to evaluate intracranial pathology. The implementation and adoption of CTB has led to clinical improvements. However, interpretation errors occur and may have substantial morbidity and mortality implications for patients. Deep learning has shown promise for facilitating improved diagnostic accuracy and triage. This research charts the potential of deep learning applied to the analysis of CTB scans. It draws on the experience of practicing clinicians and technologists involved in development and implementation of deep learning-based clinical decision support systems. We consider the past, present and future of the CTB, along with limitations of existing systems as well as untapped beneficial use cases. Implementing deep learning CTB interpretation systems and effectively navigating development and implementation risks can deliver many benefits to clinicians and patients, ultimately improving efficiency and safety in healthcare.

Chest radiographs and machine learning - Past, present and future.

Despite its simple acquisition technique, the chest X-ray remains the most common first-line imaging tool for chest assessment globally. Recent evidence for image analysis using modern machine learning points to possible improvements in both the efficiency and the accuracy of chest X-ray interpretation. While promising, these machine learning algorithms have not provided comprehensive assessment of findings in an image and do not account for clinical history or other relevant clinical information. However, the rapid evolution in technology and evidence base for its use suggests that the next generation of comprehensive, well-tested machine learning algorithms will be a revolution akin to early advances in X-ray technology. Current use cases, strengths, limitations and applications of chest X-ray machine learning systems are discussed.

Effect of a comprehensive deep-learning model on the accuracy of chest x-ray interpretation by radiologists: a retrospective, multireader multicase study.

BACKGROUND: Chest x-rays are widely used in clinical practice; however, interpretation can be hindered by human error and a lack of experienced thoracic radiologists. Deep learning has the potential to improve the accuracy of chest x-ray interpretation. We therefore aimed to assess the accuracy of radiologists with and without the assistance of a deep-learning model. METHODS: In this retrospective study, a deep-learning model was trained on 821 681 images (284 649 patients) from five data sets from Australia, Europe, and the USA. 2568 enriched chest x-ray cases from adult patients (≥16 years) who had at least one frontal chest x-ray were included in the test dataset; cases were representative of inpatient, outpatient, and emergency settings. 20 radiologists reviewed cases with and without the assistance of the deep-learning model with a 3-month washout period. We assessed the change in accuracy of chest x-ray interpretation across 127 clinical findings when the deep-learning model was used as a decision support by calculating area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for each radiologist with and without the deep-learning model. We also compared AUCs for the model alone with those of unassisted radiologists. If the lower bound of the adjusted 95% CI of the difference in AUC between the model and the unassisted radiologists was more than -0·05, the model was considered to be non-inferior for that finding. If the lower bound exceeded 0, the model was considered to be superior. FINDINGS: Unassisted radiologists had a macroaveraged AUC of 0·713 (95% CI 0·645-0·785) across the 127 clinical findings, compared with 0·808 (0·763-0·839) when assisted by the model. The deep-learning model statistically significantly improved the classification accuracy of radiologists for 102 (80%) of 127 clinical findings, was statistically non-inferior for 19 (15%) findings, and no findings showed a decrease in accuracy when radiologists used the deep-learning model. Unassisted radiologists had a macroaveraged mean AUC of 0·713 (0·645-0·785) across all findings, compared with 0·957 (0·954-0·959) for the model alone. Model classification alone was significantly more accurate than unassisted radiologists for 117 (94%) of 124 clinical findings predicted by the model and was non-inferior to unassisted radiologists for all other clinical findings. INTERPRETATION: This study shows the potential of a comprehensive deep-learning model to improve chest x-ray interpretation across a large breadth of clinical practice. FUNDING: Annalise.ai.