AI enhances handheld ultrasound images to detect carotid plaques
· News-MedicalHandheld ultrasound devices' lower image quality can make small or faint carotid plaque hard to see. Researchers in Hunan Province, China, developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model that sharpens handheld ultrasound images after they are taken. Researchers then tested it in a community screening program of adults aged 40 and older. Here's what they found:
- Among 153 carotid plaques in 117 participants, the AI-enhanced images showed 94.8% (145/153) of plaques compared with 87.6% (134/153) on the standard handheld ultrasound images.
- However, the enhanced images still missed more than one-third of plaques with unstable-appearing features, suggesting that the tool should not be used on its own to rule out risk
Source:
American Academy of Family Physicians
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