New Machine Learning Initiative Announced to Develop an Artificial Intelligence X-Ray Engine

An initiative has been set up between the largest US cloud-based radiology service provider, a leading US technology institute, and a leading medical school to develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI) X-Ray engine that can pre-read digital X-Ray exams and find potential injuries and disease.

The research team plans to integrate the system into the cloud-based service provider’s exam routing technology and apply an AI algorithm to all X-Ray images before they are routed to a radiologist. The system will use machine learning to continuously improve outcomes. The system will use the cloud provider’s imaging database of 7 billion images.

The Singularity Healthcare initiative will be launched in the second quarter of 2016 by Imaging Advantage (IA; Santa Monica, CA, USA), and includes leading researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT; Boston, MA, USA) and Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital (HMS/MGH; Boston, MA, USA). More than 500 radiologists and 450 facilities in the US and around the globe are connected to the Imaging Advantage cloud.

X-Ray exams still account for 50% of healthcare radiology tests in the US, and this makes them a significant limiting factor in hospital emergency departments. The Singularity initiative aims to make the patient workflow more efficient and improve treatment.

SP Kothari, PhD, MIT Sloan School of Management, said, "We have a number of opportunities for research and innovation at MIT, but were particularly intrigued by the bold initiative proposed by Imaging Advantage. Given IA's platform approach to healthcare delivery, national scale and significant imaging data set, and the contribution of Dr. Saini from MGH, one of the leading global radiology teaching and research institutions, the project is not only achievable, but also has potential to touch nearly every person in world. This is how we think artificial intelligence and deep learning should be developed and deployed. Given the advances in the field of artificial intelligence that have taken place at MIT and elsewhere, and Imaging Advantage's scale, we are not only optimistic about a successful outcome, but expect it to be realized on an accelerated schedule."

Related Links:
Imaging Advantage
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Harvard Medical School