Scientists develop AI tool to identify Covid-19 cases via CT scans

Team Udayavani, Oct 5, 2020, 3:58 PM IST

University of Central Florida has claimed an AI algorithm could be trained to classify Covid -19 pneumonia in X-ray scans with up to 90% accuracy.

As reported by Deccan Herald, The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, demonstrated that the new technique can correctly identify positive COVID-19 cases 84 per cent of the time, and negative cases 93 per cent of the time.

Researchers trained a computer algorithm to recognise Covid -19 in lung CT scans of 1,280 patients. They then tested it on CT scans of 1,337 patients with lung diseases ranging from Covid -19 to cancer and non- Covid pneumonia

The report further states that the scientists said the X ray scan is not always recommended as a diagnostic tool for Covid -19 since the disease often looks similar to influenza-associated pneumonias on the scans.

In the new study, the researchers showed that their algorithm can overcome this problem by accurately identifying Covid -19 cases, as well as distinguishing them from influenza. They believe the algorithm can serve as a great potential aid for physician