How machine learning will transform the way we look at medical images

Medical imaging is key in today's delivery of modern healthcare, with an immense 41 million imaging tests taking place in England in every year. Thousands upon thousands of patients safely undergo imaging procedures such as X-ray, ultrasound, and MRI every day, and the product of these tests – the images – play an essential role in informing the decisions of medical professionals and patients in nearly every area of disease. At its core, medical imaging is the application of physics, and sometimes biochemistry, to visually represent the biology and anatomy of living humans. We have progressed from the first, blurry, x-ray in 1895, to being able to measure minute changes in oxygenation within the brain; whilst major technological advancements continue to be made every year. In the field of medical imaging, these techniques are applied to expand our understanding of the human body and disease in research settings, but much of this technology does not actually make it into every day clinical practice.