Radiology societies team up for new statement on ethics of AI
Numerous imaging societies, including the American College of Radiology (ACR) and RSNA, have published a new statement on the ethical use of AI in radiology.
The European Society of Radiology, Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine, European Society of Medical Imaging Informatics (EuSoMII), Canadian Association of Radiologists and American Association of Physicists in Medicine all also co-authored the statement which is focused on three key areas of AI development: data, algorithms and practice. A condensed summary was shared in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, Radiology, Insights into Imaging and the Canadian Association of Radiologists Journal.
“Radiologists remain ultimately responsible for patient care and will need to acquire new skills to do their best for patients in the new AI ecosystem,” J. Raymond Geis, MD, ACR Data Science Institute senior scientist and one of the document’s leading contributors, said in a prepared statement. “The radiology community needs an ethical framework to help steer technological development, influence how different stakeholders respond to and use AI, and implement these tools to make the best decisions for—and increasingly with—patients.”
“The application of AI tools in radiological practice lies in the hand of the radiologists, which also means that they have to be well-informed not only about the advantages they can offer to improve their services to patients, but also about the potential risks and pitfalls that might occur when implementing them,” Erik R. Ranschaert, MD, PhD, president of EuSoMII. “This paper is therefore an excellent basis to improve their awareness about the potential issues that might arise, and should stimulate them in thinking proactively on how to answer the existing questions.”
Back in September, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) published its own guidelines on the ethical application of AI in healthcare. The document, “Ethical Principles for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine,” is available on the RANZCR website.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.