All the latest packaging trends for life sciences, all at PACK EXPO East
Explore new packaging solutions for life sciences, all in one convenient location at PACK EXPO East, March 18 – 20 in Philadelphia.

AI Can Use X-Rays to Predict a Person’s Race

It’s impossible for doctors to determine race from X-rays; could a computer algorithm inadvertently create a racial bias?

1485197059y0d
Public Domain

A recent article from TheSciVerse discussed the topic of racial bias in the context of medical imaging and artificial intelligence. Apparently an international team of researchers from the United States, Canada, and Taiwan tested AI on X-ray images and were able to predict the patient’s claimed race identification with up to 90% accuracy. The researchers think that it could be due to the system detecting melanin, the pigment in skin that gives it its color, in a novel way that is yet unknown.

"Our finding that AI can accurately predict self-reported race, even from corrupted, cropped, and noised medical images, often when clinical experts cannot, creates an enormous risk for all model deployments in medical imaging," the researchers wrote. 

Test Your Supply Chain Smarts
Take Healthcare Packaging's supply chain quiz to prove your knowledge!
Read More
Test Your Supply Chain Smarts
How to Honor a Leader
Induction into the Packaging & Processing Hall of Fame is the highest honor in our industry. Submit your leader to be considered for the Class of 2024 now through June 10th. New members will be inducted at PACK EXPO International in Chicago.
Read More
How to Honor a Leader