Artificial Intelligence System Diagnoses Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Seconds by Reading CT Images

A new smart image-reading system has been launched by Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (Shenzhen, China) that can assist doctors with efficient and accurate diagnoses by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and could help control the epidemic through earlier diagnoses and treatment.

As COVID-19 is a new disease, medical institutions, especially at the primary level in China, lack diagnosis experience. The Nucleic Acid Test (NAT) had been regarded as the major reference for COVID-19 diagnoses. However, as the epidemic continues to spread, the NAT has had several problems, including long detection times and a high proportion of false negative cases. This has resulted in some patients missing the chance for early treatment or quarantine. Many doctors have used Computed Tomography (CT) images for diagnosis, although there is a lack of radiologists in the epidemic areas for reviewing the volume of CT imaging.

The COVID-19 smart image-reading system has been trained using used clinical data and aims to close this gap. The AI analysis engine can conduct a comparative analysis of multiple CT scan images of the same patient and measure the changes in lesions. It helps doctors to track the development of the disease, evaluate the treatment and arrive at the prognosis for the patients. It assists doctors in diagnosing, triaging and evaluating COVID-19 patients swiftly and effectively. The COVID-19 smart image-reading system also supports AI image-reading remotely by medical professionals outside the epidemic areas.

Medical institutions that require COVID-19 smart image-reading services can also gain access on public or private cloud platforms or on premises. At the same time, the public or private cloud platforms support storing and sharing electronic film. The smart image-reading system can also be quickly transplanted to CT equipment with the help of manufacturers to assist in diagnosing the COVID-19.

"Patients with COVID-19 need multiple CT scans during the treatment. Comparing multiple images is a time-consuming task and it cannot be accurately completed manually. Utilizing Ping An Smart Healthcare's COVID-19 smart image-reading system, it can effectively improve the diagnostic accuracy and the doctor's image-reading efficiency," said Dr. Xiao Jing, Chief Scientist of Ping An.

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Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.