Platforms powered by artificial intelligence have been recommended for use on the NHS to help prevent medics from missing bone fractures on X-rays . The technologies could help speed up diagnosis and reduce the need for follow-up appointments, experts said. Urgent care centres in England can use four platforms following the publication of draft guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice).
Nice said clinical evidence suggests AI could “improve fracture detection on X-rays in urgent care without increasing the risk of incorrect diagnoses”. It added that the technology “could help reduce the number of fractures that are missed in urgent care, which would reduce the risk of further injury or harm to people during the time between the initial interpretation and treatment decision in urgent care and the radiology review”. Improving the accuracy of diagnosis could also reduce the number of people being recalled to hospital after a radiology review, as well as unnecessary referrals to fracture clinics, according to the guidance.
People with a suspected fracture are typically assessed by an urgent care nurse or doctor, who will request an X-ray to be carried out by a radiographer. Nice recommends these X-rays should be reviewed by a radiologist, radiographer or other trained professional, who should provide a detailed report before the patient is discharged. However, the watchdog’s committee heard that this is not always possible in practice, wit.