AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.

To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) assisted radiologists and standard double-reading in real-world clinical settings for rib fractures (RFs) detection on CT images. This study included 243 consecutive chest trauma patients (mean age, 58.1 years; female, 166) with rib...

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Main Authors: Li Sun, Yangyang Fan, Shan Shi, Minghong Sun, Yunyao Ma, Kuo Zhang, Feng Zhang, Huan Liu, Tong Yu, Haibin Tong, Xuedong Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2025-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316732
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author Li Sun
Yangyang Fan
Shan Shi
Minghong Sun
Yunyao Ma
Kuo Zhang
Feng Zhang
Huan Liu
Tong Yu
Haibin Tong
Xuedong Yang
author_facet Li Sun
Yangyang Fan
Shan Shi
Minghong Sun
Yunyao Ma
Kuo Zhang
Feng Zhang
Huan Liu
Tong Yu
Haibin Tong
Xuedong Yang
author_sort Li Sun
collection DOAJ
description To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) assisted radiologists and standard double-reading in real-world clinical settings for rib fractures (RFs) detection on CT images. This study included 243 consecutive chest trauma patients (mean age, 58.1 years; female, 166) with rib CT scans. All CT scans were interpreted by two radiologists. The CT images were re-evaluated by primary readers with AI assistance in a blinded manner. Reference standards were established by two musculoskeletal radiologists. The re-evaluation results were then compared with those from the initial double-reading. The primary analysis focused on demonstrate superiority of AI-assisted sensitivity and the noninferiority of specificity at patient level, compared to standard double-reading. Secondary endpoints were at the rib and lesion levels. Stand-alone AI performance was also assessed. The influence of patient characteristics, report time, and RF features on the performance of AI and radiologists was investigated. At patient level, AI-assisted radiologists significantly improved sensitivity by 25.0% (95% CI: 10.5, 39.5; P < 0.001 for superiority), compared to double-reading, from 69.2% to 94.2%. And, the specificity of AI-assisted diagnosis (100%) was noninferior to double-reading (98.2%) with a difference of 1.8% (95% CI: -3.8, 7.4; P = 0.999 for noninferiority). The diagnostic accuracy of both radiologists and AI was influenced by patient gender, rib number, fracture location, and fracture type. Radiologist performance was affected by report time, whereas AI's diagnostic accuracy was influenced by patient age and the side of the rib involved. AI-assisted additional-reader workflow might be a feasible strategy to instead of traditional double-reading, potentially offering higher sensitivity and specificity compared to standard double-reading in real-word clinical practice.
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spelling doaj-art-76ba830d7f7e48c3bd56038f7106cc5a2025-08-20T01:48:36ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032025-01-01201e031673210.1371/journal.pone.0316732AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.Li SunYangyang FanShan ShiMinghong SunYunyao MaKuo ZhangFeng ZhangHuan LiuTong YuHaibin TongXuedong YangTo evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of artificial intelligence (AI) assisted radiologists and standard double-reading in real-world clinical settings for rib fractures (RFs) detection on CT images. This study included 243 consecutive chest trauma patients (mean age, 58.1 years; female, 166) with rib CT scans. All CT scans were interpreted by two radiologists. The CT images were re-evaluated by primary readers with AI assistance in a blinded manner. Reference standards were established by two musculoskeletal radiologists. The re-evaluation results were then compared with those from the initial double-reading. The primary analysis focused on demonstrate superiority of AI-assisted sensitivity and the noninferiority of specificity at patient level, compared to standard double-reading. Secondary endpoints were at the rib and lesion levels. Stand-alone AI performance was also assessed. The influence of patient characteristics, report time, and RF features on the performance of AI and radiologists was investigated. At patient level, AI-assisted radiologists significantly improved sensitivity by 25.0% (95% CI: 10.5, 39.5; P < 0.001 for superiority), compared to double-reading, from 69.2% to 94.2%. And, the specificity of AI-assisted diagnosis (100%) was noninferior to double-reading (98.2%) with a difference of 1.8% (95% CI: -3.8, 7.4; P = 0.999 for noninferiority). The diagnostic accuracy of both radiologists and AI was influenced by patient gender, rib number, fracture location, and fracture type. Radiologist performance was affected by report time, whereas AI's diagnostic accuracy was influenced by patient age and the side of the rib involved. AI-assisted additional-reader workflow might be a feasible strategy to instead of traditional double-reading, potentially offering higher sensitivity and specificity compared to standard double-reading in real-word clinical practice.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316732
spellingShingle Li Sun
Yangyang Fan
Shan Shi
Minghong Sun
Yunyao Ma
Kuo Zhang
Feng Zhang
Huan Liu
Tong Yu
Haibin Tong
Xuedong Yang
AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.
PLoS ONE
title AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.
title_full AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.
title_fullStr AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.
title_full_unstemmed AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.
title_short AI-assisted radiologists vs. standard double reading for rib fracture detection on CT images: A real-world clinical study.
title_sort ai assisted radiologists vs standard double reading for rib fracture detection on ct images a real world clinical study
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0316732
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