SWOT analysis of the application of artificial intelligence in radiologic technology and radiology

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing changes to radiology and radiologic technology, enabling the development of programs and algorithms that facilitate diagnosis and decisions. It is essential to understand how AI can improve patient outcomes, increase the efficiency of investigations and reduce costs. Machine and deep learning have proven to be extremely useful in the detection and characterization of lesions, improving routine imaging techniques and facilitating the work of radiologists by reducing workload and improving the quality of reporting. The practical application of artificial intelligence in radiology and radiologic technology has been slowed down by the lack of integrated solutions and well-structured data archives, as well as challenges such as non-transparency of decision-making systems and large amounts of quality data needed to train artificial intelligence models. There are concerns about the potential impact of AI on the work of radiologists and radiologic technologists, which may hinder the development and implementation of this technology. Textual data derived from image reports can provide valuable healthcare insights. Natural language processing (NLP), a subset of artificial intelligence, offers promising solutions for handling unstructured text in these reports, opening a new era in extracting information from medical images and related reports. Due to the challenges in training experts for the application of AI in healthcare, a multidisciplinary approach will have to be used and investments in collaboration and education will have to be made. There are outstanding issues of liability and regulation regarding data storage and privacy, particularly in the case of cloud storage. The concern of the workforce and their lack of education about artificial intelligence represents an obstacle to its adoption, but also offers an opportunity for the technological advancement of the profession.