Interview with Dr Bharat Aggarwal - Artificial Intelligence and the Radiology Workflow

Dr Bharat Aggarwal

Dr. Bharat Aggarwal is the Director of Radiology Services at Max Healthcare. A distinguished third generation Radiologist, he was previously the promoter and lead Radiologist at Diwan Chand Aggarwal Imaging Research Centre, New Delhi. Dr. Aggarwal is an alumnus of Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, and UCMS, Delhi.

Q&A with Dr. Bharat Aggarwal on artificial intelligence in radiology.

How do you see Artificial Intelligence in radiology evolving in the future?

There is going to be a significant role of AI in the field of imaging, and it will form a critical part of service delivery. There are many gaps in the existing model of service offerings. Some examples where AI will be commonly used include triaging and highlighting critical cases (reporting is done sequentially and a diagnosis requiring urgent intervention could be “at the bottom of the pile”); early diagnosis (pixel resolution of AI vs the human eye); pre-reading to take care of resource crunch, automation in comparisons, objectivization of disease & response to treatment; quality assurance etc.

Photo of Dr Bharat Aggarwal with quote

How far away is the industry from realizing these goals, and how does Qure compare to similar solutions that you may have seen/ implemented?

10-15 years.

How do you think the Qure.ai Chest X-ray solution can help radiologists in their practice?

Triaging normal from abnormal; building efficiency; quality assurance.

What is your advice to young radiologists who are just getting started on their career? How should they think about adopting AI in their practice and should they be doing anything differently to succeed as a radiologist 10-20 years from now?

Yes, adopting AI is a must. Radiologists will not be irrelevant in the world of machines. The role of the radiologists will be to direct research towards clinical gaps, validate AI diagnosis and focus on new problems that will emerge in the AI world. They need to treat AI with healthy competitiveness and build their careers with AI on their team. The opposition is the disease. The goal is health for all.