Deep Learning-based Automated Detection of Pulmonary Embolism: Is It Reliable?

To assess the diagnostic accuracy and clinical applicability of the artificial intelligence (AI) program "Canon Automation Platform" for the automated detection and localization of pulmonary embolisms (PEs) in chest computed tomography pulmonary angiograms (CTPAs).

A total of 1474 CTPAs suspected of PEs were retrospectively evaluated by 2 senior radiology residents with 5 years of experience. The final diagnosis was verified through radiology reports by 2 thoracic radiologists with 20 and 25 years of experience, along with the patients' clinical records and histories. The images were transferred to the Canon Automation Platform, which integrates with the picture archiving and communication system (PACS), and the diagnostic success of the platform was evaluated. This study examined all anatomic levels of the pulmonary arteries, including the left pulmonary artery, right pulmonary artery, and interlobar, segmental, and subsegmental branches.

The confusion matrix data obtained at all anatomic levels considered in our study were as follows: AUC-ROC score of 0.945 to 0.996, accuracy of 95.4% to 99.7%, sensitivity of 81.4% to 99.1%, specificity of 98.7% to 100%, PPV of 89.1% to 100%, NPV of 95.6% to 99.9%, F1 score of 0.868 to 0.987, and Cohen Kappa of 0.842 to 0.986. Notably, sensitivity in the subsegmental branches was lower (81.4% to 84.7%) compared with more central locations, whereas specificity remained consistent (98.7% to 98.9%).

The results showed that the chest pain package of the Canon Automation Platform accurately provides rapid automatic PE detection in chest CTPAs by leveraging deep learning algorithms to facilitate the clinical workflow. This study demonstrates that AI can provide physicians with robust diagnostic support for acute PE, particularly in hospitals without 24/7 access to radiology specialists.