United States: Low-dose CT chest scans, according to research, enable proper pneumonia diagnosis in compromised groups of patients without subjecting them to extensive radiation exposure.
More about the news
The expert’s team published their findings on ultra-low-dose CT effectiveness in detecting pneumonia in immune-compromised patients through Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging.
The CT examinations deliver scans with only 2% of dosages used in standard CT imaging, according to research findings.
According to the lead researcher, Dr. Maximiliano Klug, a radiologist with the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, Israel, “This study paves the way for safer, AI-driven imaging that reduces radiation exposure while preserving diagnostic accuracy,” US News reported.
CT scans serve as the definitive method for pneumonia diagnosis, according to Klug, because medical professionals remain concerned about repeated radiation exposures.
Ultra-low-dose CT technology presents several challenges because it produces indistinct images that are difficult to interpret, according to researchers.
What more are the experts stating?
Klug revealed that the research team produced an AI program that refined low-dose scan images through “de-noising” processing to improve clinicians’ readability.
During the time period from September 2020 to December 2022, researchers scanned the chests of 54 immune-compromised patients who had fevers twice for diagnostic purposes using normal standard doses as well as ultralow standard doses.
The computer system refined the low-dose picture, and then radiologists examined both sets of images.
The analysis of AI-cleaned low-dose scans achieved complete accuracy for detecting pneumonia from radiologists while they maintained 91% to 98% accuracy in reviewing the scans before AI improvement, according to study findings.
Furthermore, as Klug mentioned, “This pilot study identified infection with a fraction of the radiation dose,” US News reported.
“This approach could drive larger studies and ultimately reshape clinical guidelines, making denoised ultra-low dose CT the new standard for young immunocompromised patients,” he continued.