Medical students are aware of the potential implications of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare and also believe its application will revolutionize and improve radiology, according to the results of a recent survey published online in European Radiology.
Using a web-based questionnaire sent to three major medical schools in Germany, researchers from hospitals associated with these schools sought to evaluate medical students' understanding of AI in radiology and medicine in general.
Among the 263 students who responded, 83% believed AI could potentially detect pathologies on radiological exams, 77% said that AI will revolutionize radiology, and 83% believed it would improve radiology. Most of the students (83%) disagreed with the idea that AI will replace human radiologists (Eur Radiol, 6 July 2018).
Many medical students had previously heard about the use of AI in radiology, but most did not necessarily have an understanding of the basic technical principles underlying AI, the authors noted. Radiology should take the lead in educating medical students on AI and other emerging technologies, as one of the first specialties to investigate their medical applications.
