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Artificial Intelligence Promises Quicker Fracture Diagnosis for Accident Victims

Artificial intelligence has been used in many areas to help fill voids needed in tasks.  Now, doctors treating victims of car accidents who have suffered fractures might receive a quicker diagnosis of the fracture using artificial intelligence- enabled systems.

Fractures or broken bones are some of the most common injuries that occur during car accidents. A fracture is a serious injury that oftentimes requires people to be rushed to a hospital emergency room. X-rays and other scans may be used to help diagnose a fracture in an emergency room. The problem, however, is that most doctors are expected to interpret hundreds of X-rays in a given day, delaying diagnoses and increasing the risk of interpretation errors.

However, according to a new study, systems that make use of artificial intelligence can help doctors diagnose fractures quicker. The researchers are working on a system that makes use of artificial intelligence to identify positive X- rays and moves these up for radiologists to begin interpreting these X-ray reports quicker. This makes the waiting time for a patient to receive a diagnosis much shorter. That also means a lower waiting time at the hospital emergency room before you receive a complete diagnosis of your injury.

Studies using the system also found that artificial intelligence reduces the chance of diagnostic errors. The chaotic nature of a typical hospital emergency room means that diagnostic errors are fairly prevalent. Using artificial intelligence reduces the risk of such errors. In fact, according to the researchers, the risk of wrong interpretation of X-rays accounts for approximately 24% of diagnostic errors that occur in a typical hospital emergency department. Many of those errors can simply be avoided with the use of artificial intelligence.

The researchers tested the system on a number of fractures, including pelvic fractures, lumbar fractures, and fractures of the hands, legs and rib cage to understand the effectiveness of the system in reducing diagnosis times. The use of artificial intelligence helped reduce the risk of missed fractures by an impressive 30%. The researchers believe that artificial intelligence can be a very powerful and effective tool to help radiologists and other members of the diagnostic team come to quicker and more accurate diagnoses of broken bones.

After a car accident, it is important for you to get emergency medical treatment for all of your injuries. Sometimes, a fracture may show up as simply swelling, or inflammation and may not involve a tremendous amount of pain. Don’t ignore these injuries, however.  It is important that your doctors be aware of these injuries and treat them as quickly as possible. Failure to get your injuries treated could also make it difficult for you to get compensation for these injuries, when it comes time to file your claim.

The Atlanta car accident attorneys at the Katz Personal Injury Lawyers represent persons who have suffered injuries in car accidents in the metro Atlanta region and across Georgia. If you or a loved one have suffered injuries in a car accident in Georgia, talk to a lawyer at our firm and determine your legal options to a claim for damages.  

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