First in Norway to test this

Some fear the use of artificial intelligence, but now in Perm Hospital they are ready to use technology that has been proven to detect injuries overlooked by the doctor.

– This solution will lead to a massive improvement for both patients and doctors from day one, says Bjorn Anton Graf.

The project is led by AI in the imaging department of Vestre Viken health.

Graff has been working on the project for nearly two years, and now it’s on fire.

We saw the potential very early on and knew there were huge opportunities here. Graf says that artificial intelligence will be able to revolutionize the work of hospitals.

quick answer

The project manager, who is an avid soccer player, uses himself as an example when he explains.

If he was unlucky on the soccer field one evening and injured himself, thinking his ankle was broken, he would go to the emergency department to be checked out.

An x-ray is taken there, before he has to sit and wait until the doctor has time to analyze the images. In a busy emergency department, everyone knows this can take a long time.

But in August, when Byrum Hospital uses artificial intelligence to analyze images, you will know immediately if there is a breach or not.

About 70 percent of all patients who come to the emergency room with a suspected fracture do not have a fracture.

When you get the answer right away, and there’s no breakage, you can go home and rest your ankle high on the couch—instead of sitting in a full-blown emergency room and waiting.

The next day, the doctor ensures quality in analyzing the X-ray image, to be absolutely sure that the technique has given the correct answer.

New evidence

But can we completely trust technology?

– We got proof of that two days ago. Graf says the AI ​​then picked up on the fracture, which the doctor had overlooked.

Then this doctor had to contact the patient to change the treatment, based on the findings of the AI.

– We have incredibly good professionals, but like artificial intelligence, it happens that they also make mistakes. So we use AI as a safety net, says the project manager.

The first in the country

While this technology is in operation in many hospitals in Europe, it has not been used before in Norway.

Bærum Hospital is now working on quality assurance, and will be fully rolled out in August.

Research consultant Line Tveiten says around 12,000 patients are seen each year for suspected fractures, at Bærum Hospital alone.

In all of Vestre Viken, the number is 36,000.

– With this solution, these patients will get answers faster. In addition, we are preventing patients from congregating in the emergency department. Tveiten says this also provides resources for professionals to care for the sickest patients.

The need for diagnostic imaging increases every year. So experts are clear that there is a perilous need to adopt new technology.

“Because the population is aging, more and more people are living longer with cancer, plus the fact that there’s more advanced diagnostic imaging, every radiologist has to deal with 10 percent more images each year,” says Tveiten.

– Just the beginning

Both she and Graf are clear that they are calling for AI to be implemented in the hospital, as it is a completely new technology.

– This is exactly why we have been so focused on privacy and ICT security, since day one. Graf says we feel very confident that this is being done in a good way.

From August onwards, AI will be fully used in diagnostic imaging in Perm Hospital. The solution will then be rolled out to other hospitals in Vestre Viken.

And the project manager is clear that this is just the beginning.

– During the year, we aim to implement intelligence solutions for a total of three different disease groups; Fractures, multiple sclerosis patients, and cancer patients. This is incredibly exciting.