Doctors often use ultrasound, mammograms, MRI, or biopsy to find or diagnose breast cancer. In a new study, researchers from NYU and NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) report that they have developed a novel artificial intelligence (AI) system that achieves radiologist-level accuracy in identifying breast cancer in ultrasound images.
Their findings are published in the journal Nature Communications, in a paper titled, “Artificial intelligence system reduces false-positive findings in the interpretation of breast ultrasound exams,” and was led by Farah Shamout, PhD, NYUAD assistant professor emerging scholar of computer engineering and colleagues.
When the researchers conducted a reader study to compare its diagnostic accuracy with board-certified breast radiologists, the system achieved higher accuracy than the ten radiologists on average. However, a hybrid model that aggregated the predictions of the AI system and radiologists achieved the best results in accurately detecting cancer in patients.
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“Our findings highlight the potential of AI to improve the accuracy, consistency, and efficiency of breast ultrasound diagnosis,” explained Shamout. “Importantly, AI is not a replacement for the expertise of clinicians. However, the powerful, complementary role that AI systems can play as a decision support tool leads us to believe that they should and will be increasingly translated into clinical practice.”
