Due to an increase in the need for medical imaging and a decreasing number of radiologists, teleradiology demand has dramatically increased across Germany and Austria. The amount of hospitals utilizing these services has doubled between 2018 and 2023, and this demand is only projected to continue to grow. Consequently, artificial intelligence (AI) has garnered much interest as it could potentially enhance the efficiency and quality of teleradiology.
Reif & Möller, the largest teleradiology network in Germany, and also the first in the country to routinely use AI since 2022, has conducted two recent studies to delve into how AI can benefit patient care and staff satisfaction. Dr. med. Torsten Möller, the company’s CEO, unveiled these study results at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna.
The first study aimed to find out if the quality of teleradiological reporting could be improved using AI. To answer this, Reif & Möller teamed up with Aidoc, a leading clinical AI provider, to integrate its AI solutions into their current workflow. This AI technology served to automatically notify teleradiologists of suspected cases of acute pathologies in patient’s CT scans, including intracranial haemorrhage (ICH).
Over 2,700 patient CT scans were analyzed using Aidoc’s ICH AI solution. These results were then compared to findings from radiologists who did not have access to AI. This study found the AI flagged another 5% of positive cases that were not initially reported by radiologists. This clearly demonstrates that AI can increase the quality of radiological reporting, particularly when dealing with the high case volumes common in teleradiology.
The second study conducted by Reif & Möller aimed to assess the satisfaction of teleradiologists when using AI. They surveyed radiologists both 5 and 18 months after initially deploying the AI. These radiologists had used the AI to analyse many thousands of patient scans. The surveys revealed a growing satisfaction amongst the teleradiologists using AI, showing its capacity to positively impact their professional experience and inspire confidence.
In the future, Dr. Möller envisages that radiologists will be required to use AI. However, he emphasizes that AI should not replace, but work alongside radiologists. This is particularly important as the ever-growing demand for teleradiology services is clear. It’s therefore apparent that AI has a considerable role to play in the future of teleradiology.
