Can a computer algorithm interpret a mammogram as well as an expert radiologist? Not yet – but in a study published today, the most accurate algorithm in a coding contest, when combined with a radiologist's reading of the mammogram, actually did improve the interpretations' agreement with the patients' clinical outcomes. 

Dr. Christoph Lee, a professor of radiology at the University of Washington School of Medicine, was co-senior author of the study. The findings, he said, show that artificial intelligence could help by "clearing the obviously negative mammograms" and allow expert radiologists to spend more time on patient scans that are more complex. Read our news release.