An artificial intelligence (AI) system, which mimics the gaze of radiologists reading medical images such as mammograms, has been developed by a team of scientists at Cardiff University.
The first-of-its-kind system improves the speed, accuracy and sensitivity of medical diagnostics and could lead to early detection of breast cancer, the researchers claim.
The team, from the University's School of Computer Science and Informatics, also hopes it will help address a UK-wide shortage of radiologists through training and education applications.
To build the system, they used a sophisticated algorithm known as a convolutional neural network which is designed to mimic neurons in the human brain and is modelled specifically on the visual cortex.
This type of algorithm is ideal for taking images and assigning importance to various objects or aspects within the image itself.
The research team developed the algorithm with radiologists from three NHS hospitals - Breast Test Wales, University Hospital of Wales (UHW) and Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Their findings, published in IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, show that the AI system can accurately predict the areas of an image where radiologists are most likely to look when preparing a diagnosis.
Dr Hantao Liu, a Reader at Cardiff University's School of Computer Science and Informatics and one of the study's co-authors, said: "With all of the challenges facing the NHS, it is important that we look to data science and AI for possible solutions.
