Diagnostic imaging via CT scan and other technologies is used in examinations for various illnesses, including COVID-19. Essential steps include the physician inspecting images for lesions or other abnormalities (reading the CT image) and recording the results in a report. In recent years, with advances in imaging devices, it has become possible to obtain many images in a short time, but this has increased the workloads of physicians reading the CT images, which is a challenge at many medical sites.
The technology for generating image interpretation reports jointly developed by Fujifilm and FUJIFILM Business Innovation (formerly Fuji Xerox) allows for automatic generation of an interpretation draft report. Not only does it reduce the workloads of physicians associated with reading CT images, promoting work-style reform in medical settings, but it also leads to spending more time in communication with patients.
The main technologies supporting the generation of interpretation draft reports are Fujifilm’s image recognition technology and FUJIFILM Business Innovation’s automatic text generation technology. The former is technology that was cultivated in the photograph and medical equipment fields and can be used to automatically find images matching a specific description out of an enormous amount of image data. The latter is technology that automates document preparation and summary of the given description using AI. It is based on natural language processing technology*1, which was cultivated in research and development of multifunction devices and other document-related products.
The researchers of both companies formed a project team to establish a new technology based on these while obtaining advice from multiple physicians who read scans on a daily basis. This technology was made possible precisely because the Fujifilm Group possesses knowledge and technologies related to both images and language and has an abundance of connections with medical institutions through businesses such as diagnostic imaging equipment.
- *1 Technology for processing ordinary language used by humans with a computer
- Top share of medical-use PACS market in Japan
- Image recognition technology cultivated in the photograph and medical equipment fields
- Extensive knowledge in the medical field accumulated in the manufacture and sale of medical equipment
- Natural language processing technology in the document field
- Automatic text generation technology using natural language processing technology
- Hypothesis verification capabilities and knowledge cultivated in field tests for natural language processing technology