Artificial intelligence's contribution to early pulmonary lesion detection in chest X-rays: insights from two retrospective studies on a Czech population.

In recent years healthcare is undergoing significant changes due to technological innovations, with Artificial Intelligence (AI) being a key trend. Particularly in radiodiagnostics, according to studies, AI has the potential to enhance accuracy and efficiency. We focus on AI's role in diagnosing pulmonary lesions, which could indicate lung cancer, based on chest X-rays. Despite lower sensitivity in comparison to other methods like chest CT, due to its routine use, X-rays often provide the first detection of lung lesions. We present our deep learning-based solution aimed at improving lung lesion detection, especially during early-stage of illness. We then share results from our previous studies validating this model in two different clinical settings: a general hospital with low prevalence findings and a specialized oncology center. Based on a quantitative comparison with the conclusions of radiologists of different levels of experience, our model achieves high sensitivity, but lower specificity than comparing radiologists. In the context of clinical requirements and AI-assisted diagnostics, the experience and clinical reasoning of the doctor play a crucial role, therefore we currently lean more towards models with higher sensitivity over specificity. Even unlikely suspicions are presented to the doctor. Based on these results, it can be expected that in the future artificial intelligence will play a key role in the field of radiology as a supporting tool for evaluating specialists. To achieve this, it is necessary to solve not only technical but also medical and regulatory aspects. It is crucial to have access to quality and reliable information not only about the benefits but also about the limitations of machine learning and AI in medicine.

Enhancing Accuracy in Breast Density Assessment Using Deep Learning: A Multicentric, Multi-Reader Study.

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 (κ) 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.

Leveraging Deep Learning Decision-Support System in Specialized Oncology Center: A Multi-Reader Retrospective Study on Detection of Pulmonary Lesions in Chest X-ray Images.

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.