A new artificial intelligence tool can accurately distinguish specific forms of muscular dystrophy by analyzing MRI scans, according to recent research.
The study, “Accuracy of a machine learning muscle MRI-based tool for the diagnosis of muscular dystrophies,” was published in the journal Neurology.
Jose Verdu-Diaz, with Copenhagen Neuromuscular Center’s Department of Neurology, and colleagues used hundreds of images to create their machine learning tool, which achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 95.7%, beating out a group of expert radiologists.
“This tool can be of great help in the diagnostic process of MDs, providing potential genes to be tested or reinforcing the pathogenic role of a mutation found,” the authors wrote.
In order to create their AI, the researchers collected 976 pelvic and lower limb muscle MRIs, detailing 10 different forms of muscular dystrophy. They then generated 2,000 different models and selected the most accurate one.
When Verdu-Diaz et al. tested this approach on a new set of 20 test MRIs, it achieved a 95.7% accuracy, 92.1% sensitivity and 99.4% specificity.
Although their research is in its early phases, the authors believe they have taken a positive step forward for those suffering from muscular dystrophy.
“This study can be considered as a proof of concept that demonstrates that artificial intelligence can be applied to the field of muscle MRI,” they concluded.
