Hey, my background is in computer science, with a master's specialization in theoretical computer science / machine learning. I absolutely believe computers will replace the
basic reads in radiology. I like to make an analogy with pathology. Do pathologists review CMPs/CBCs/LFTs? Nope! They perform more involved reads such as bone marrow biopsies, peripheral smears, surgical pathology, etc. The low ROI of plain films, redundancy and accuracy of automated methods makes economic sense for these tests to be automated.
Plain films, ventilation-perfusion scans, 2D ultrasounds, and pretty much anything outside 3D volumetric reads and angiograms can be automated with technologies currently in existence.
If anyone is interested in this topic, I think the path looks something like this:
1. Develop a simple system reading plain-film chest X-rays including production of a standardized report.
2. Run clinical trials demonstrating the
superiority of the method to traditional reads.
3. Obtain FDA approval for automated reads.
FDA approval for algorithms is the real hurdle. A system that saves money and has FDA approval is readily adopted by hospitals. There's one company I come back to frequently as evidence of this future:
iSchemaView They provide an automated system for the identification of regions of blood flow. Their device has FDA approval and is at numerous hospitals throughout the control. Now granted it's used for acute stroke treatment, but it's evidence that the FDA is at least willing to consider algorithmic solutions to existing problems.