Artificial Intelligence in the Interpretation of Medical Images

Abstract

This article presents an overview of the field of knowledge-based approaches in the processing and interpretation of medical images. It describes the major developments in artificial intelligence and image processing that have led up to the current potential to further the increasing interest in automated processing (knowledge-based systems) and interpretation (expert systems) of medical images. After a brief discussion of the principal scientific and engineering issues in the field of knowledge-based image processing, the process of building knowledge-based systems, and the frontiers of research and development, a number of reported systems for processing and interpretation of medical images are briefly reviewed. The development of an expert system for the analysis of scintigraphic images is then presented, emphasizing knowledge acquisition, implementation and evaluation. Finally, a perspective view on reasoning under uncertainty is presented.