Artificial intelligence can help doctors find broken bones in patients. This was stated by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), BBC reports.

Artificial intelligence will not work alone, but will only help professional medical workers. The Institute’s research shows that AI-based tools are safe. They will help speed up diagnoses.

A NICE representative said that broken bones are missed in 3% to 10% of cases. This is the most common diagnostic error in emergency departments. At the same time, trained experts who review hundreds of X-rays every day are in short supply and have a huge workload.

“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,” said Mark Chapman, Director of Health Technology at NICE.

Thanks to the fact that artificial intelligence will help to diagnose faster and detect missed fractures, the work of medical specialists will be easier. At the same time, this will mean fewer repeated visits to doctors to detect missed injuries for patients.

NICE is also convinced that AI technology is “unlikely” to lead to an increase in misdiagnoses or referrals to fracture treatment clinics. Again, this is due to the fact that X-rays will be re-examined by a professional. At the same time, for radiologists, this means that they don’t have to look for fractures on their own, but only confirm the AI results.