The Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis entered into a joint research agreement with Fujifilm, a Japanese photography and imaging company, Aug. 28.
The collaboration will combine clinical expertise from Indiana University School of Medicine with Fujifilm's work in image processing and artificial intelligence to improve diagnostic imaging. Researchers from the two institutions will work together to develop automated diagnosis support systems that use AI to detect suspicious lesions in medical images.
The announcement adds to a growing list of medical schools partnering with technology vendors to promote the use of AI in medical imaging. Earlier in August, the radiology department at New York University School of Medicine in New York City joined forces with Facebook to launch fastMRI, a collaborative research project using AI to change the way an MRI machine creates an image.
The Indiana University School of Medicine's collaboration with Fujifilm will focus on helping physicians interpret medical images, rather than revamping how the images are created. Researchers will initially use AI technology from Fujifilm to quantify brain lesions in neuroradiology imaging exams and muscle atrophy in body images.
"Recent advances in diagnostic imaging system capabilities, such as multi-slice CT, has led to significant increases in the number of images that need to be interpreted," Fujifilm wrote in a news release announcing the collaboration. "Hence, a solution to efficiently read and interpret a large number of images is required."