Evaluating the effectiveness of artificial intelligence imaging in the qualitative diagnosis of pulmonary nodules

Abstract

Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) image diagnostic systems in the qualitative diagnosis of pulmonary nodules. We analyzed 291 cases from June 2023 to January 2024 at Chongqing University Three Gorges Hospital. All patients in the study underwent low-dose chest computed tomography scans, which identified lung nodules, followed by thoracic surgery for pathological confirmation. We compared the predictive accuracy of AI-based diagnosis with that of physician-based diagnosis in distinguishing between benign and malignant lung nodules. Among the 291 lung nodules examined, 226 were cancerous, and 65 were benign. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, plotted based on the malignancy probabilities predicted by both methods, revealed that the AI group achieved an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.727, with a sensitivity of 90.27% and a specificity of 58.46%. In comparison, the physician-reading group had an AUC of 0.737, with a sensitivity of 83.19% and a specificity of 66.15%. Our findings demonstrate that the AI diagnostic system effectively calculates malignancy probabilities for lung nodules, highlighting its significant predictive potential. This system can serve as a valuable adjunct tool for clinicians and imaging physicians in the diagnostic process.