AI to help doctors detect broken bones on X-rays

Mark Chapman, director of health technology at NICE, said it would make their job easier.

“These AI technologies are safe to use and could spot fractures which humans might miss, given the pressure and demands these professional groups work under,” he said.

Mr Chapman said AI tools could also potentially speed up diagnosis and reduce the number of follow-up appointments needed because of a fracture missed during an initial assessment.

NICE said it was “unlikely” the technology would lead to a rise in incorrect diagnoses or unnecessary referrals to fracture clinics because a radiologist would always review the X-ray images.

The process would be better than a clinician looking at images on their own, it said.

The potential for using artificial intelligence in healthcare is huge.

It is being used already to help detect the earliest signs of breast cancer on scans, spot who is most at risk of heart attacks and predict when the next pandemic will happen.

A consultation on the draft , externalNICE guidance, external on this use of AI will end on 5 November.