Whitney Palmer

IBM’s Watson: Handy Radiologist Aide?

Published on the July 13, 2011, Diagnostic Imaging Website

By Whitney L.J. Howell

Since IBM’s supercomputer Watson bested numerous Jeopardy contestants early this year, predictions have swirled about computers replacing humans. In reality, the technology isn’t there yet, but that doesn’t mean it won’t soon impact radiology.

According to its creators, Watson is intended to be an electronic health record super-reader. Currently, the technology makes diagnoses by searching its vast database of medical texts and journals after you provide a patient’s symptoms.

Once programmed for radiology, this technology will save time and will be a handy assistant, said Eliot Siegel, MD, University of Maryland School of Medicine radiology professor and imaging informatics vice chair.

“As a radiologist, it can take you between five minutes to an hour to read a patient’s complete history and get a full understanding of the reason behind the scan and what their recent treatments have been,” Siegel said. “There’s great potential for Watson to truncate that time, help with diagnosis, offer treatment summaries, synthesize charts, and perform safety checks.”

To read the remainder of the article: http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/practice-management/content/article/113619/1904535

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