A radiologist and his colleagues at St. Luke’s University Health Network have worked to develop an X-ray system that uses artificial intelligence to detect collapsed lungs, according to a press release.
Dr, Karl Yaeger, working with GE Healthcare, a manufacturing company based in Chicago, has designed the portable Optima XR240, an X-ray device designed to alert clinical teams to the presence of collapsed lungs, a potentially life-threatening condition, within seconds of taking an image at the patient’s bedside.
Chest X-rays are the most common diagnostic imaging test performed in hospitals, according to the release, and frequently done on critical care units or in emergency rooms. As a result, patients can often have to wait for their scans to be reviewed. Delayed diagnosis of a collapsed lung can be life-threatening.
The Optima XR240 technology features the Critical Care Suite, which uses artificial intelligence, or AI, to help physicians quickly diagnose. AI has also been used to promptly diagnose strokes and wrist fractures.
In helping develop the AI tool, Yaeger and his team at St. Luke’s reviewed hundreds of X-rays with and without collapsed lungs of all sizes and degrees of severity. These were then processed with a deep-learning software algorithm to determine its accuracy.
Dr. Karl Yaeger, St. Luke’s University Health Network –
Yaeger said that he is excited to be a part of this pioneering “new wave” of health care technology.
“The goal of this application of artificial intelligence is to increase the speed and accuracy of prioritizing possibly lethal conditions, so they are confirmed and treated sooner rather than later,” says Yaeger. “It’s ultimately about improving patient care and saving lives.”
Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network is a regional nonprofit health system employing 15,000 people and providing services at 10 hospitals and over 320 outpatient sites throughout the greater Lehigh Valley.
