Artificial intelligence 101 for veterinary diagnostic imaging

The prevalence and pervasiveness of artificial intelligence (AI) with medical images in veterinary and human medicine is rapidly increasing. This article provides essential definitions of AI with medical images with a focus on veterinary radiology. Machine learning methods common in medical image analysis are compared, and a detailed description of convolutional neural networks commonly used in deep learning classification and regression models is provided. A brief introduction to natural language processing (NLP) and its utility in machine learning is also provided. NLP can economize the creation of "truth-data" needed when training AI systems for both diagnostic radiology and radiation oncology applications. The goal of this publication is to provide veterinarians, veterinary radiologists, and radiation oncologists the necessary background needed to understand and comprehend AI-focused research projects and publications.