RESUMO
Background. The study deals with the introduction of the artificial intelligence in digital radiology. There is a growing interest in this area of scientific research in acceptance and consensus studies involving both insiders and the public, based on surveys focused mainly on single professionals. Purpose. The goal of the study is to perform a contemporary investigation on the acceptance and the consensus of the three key professional figures approaching in this field of application: (1) Medical specialists in image diagnostics: the medical specialists (MS)s; (2) experts in physical imaging processes: the medical physicists (MP)s; (3) AI designers: specialists of applied sciences (SAS)s. Methods. Participants (MSs = 92: 48 males/44 females, averaged age 37.9; MPs = 91: 43 males/48 females, averaged age 36.1; SAS = 90: 47 males/43 females, averaged age 37.3) were properly recruited based on specific training. An electronic survey was designed and submitted to the participants with a wide range questions starting from the training and background up to the different applications of the AI and the environment of application. Results. The results show that generally, the three professionals show (a) a high degree of encouraging agreement on the introduction of AI both in imaging and in non-imaging applications using both standalone applications and/or mHealth/eHealth, and (b) a different consent on AI use depending on the training background. Conclusions. The study highlights the usefulness of focusing on both the three key professionals and the usefulness of the investigation schemes facing a wide range of issues. The study also suggests the importance of different methods of administration to improve the adhesion and the need to continue these investigations both with federated and specific initiatives.
RESUMO
Cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly important aspect to investigate for the adoption and use of care robots, in term of both patients' safety, and the availability, integrity and privacy of their data. This study focuses on opinions about cybersecurity relevance and related skills for physiotherapists involved in rehabilitation and assistance thanks to the aid of robotics. The goal was to investigate the awareness among insiders about some facets of cybersecurity concerning human-robot interactions. We designed an electronic questionnaire and submitted it to a relevant sample of physiotherapists. The questionnaire allowed us to collect data related to: (i) use of robots and its relationship with cybersecurity in the context of physiotherapy; (ii) training in cybersecurity and robotics for the insiders; (iii) insiders' self-assessment on cybersecurity and robotics in some usage scenarios, and (iv) their experiences of cyber-attacks in this area and proposals for improvement. Besides contributing some specific statistics, the study highlights the importance of both acculturation processes in this field and monitoring initiatives based on surveys. The study exposes direct suggestions for continuation of these types of investigations in the context of scientific societies operating in the rehabilitation and assistance robotics. The study also shows the need to stimulate similar initiatives in other sectors of medical robotics (robotic surgery, care and socially assistive robots, rehabilitation systems, training for health and care workers) involving insiders.
RESUMO
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) during the COVID-19 pandemic is there for all to see, and has undoubtedly mainly concerned the activities of digital radiology. Nevertheless, the strong perception in the research and clinical application environment is that AI in radiology is like a hammer in search of a nail. Notable developments and opportunities do not seem to be combined, now, in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a stable, effective, and concrete use in clinical routine; the use of AI often seems limited to use in research applications. This study considers the future perceived integration of AI with digital radiology after the COVID-19 pandemic and proposes a methodology that, by means of a wide interaction of the involved actors, allows a positioning exercise for acceptance evaluation using a general purpose electronic survey. The methodology was tested on a first category of professionals, the medical radiology technicians (MRT), and allowed to (i) collect their impressions on the issue in a structured way, and (ii) collect their suggestions and their comments in order to create a specific tool for this professional figure to be used in scientific societies. This study is useful for the stakeholders in the field, and yielded several noteworthy observations, among them (iii) the perception of great development in thoracic radiography and CT, but a loss of opportunity in integration with non-radiological technologies; (iv) the belief that it is appropriate to invest in training and infrastructure dedicated to AI; and (v) the widespread idea that AI can become a strong complementary tool to human activity. From a general point of view, the study is a clear invitation to face the last yard of AI in digital radiology, a last yard that depends a lot on the opinion and the ability to accept these technologies by the operators of digital radiology.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The strong demand for health data by cybercrime exposes hospital structures in particular to IT risks. The greater connectivity to existing IT networks has in fact exposed Administrations to new IT security vulnerabilities, as healthcare is an extremely interesting target for cybercrime for two fundamental reasons: on the one hand, it is a source rich in valuable data and on the other, very often, the defenses are weak. METHODS: The general purpose of the study was to investigate the cybersecurity in cardiology, a strategic field of the health care. The specific purpose of the study was: (I) to perform a first overview in this field; and (II) to investigate the opinion on the cyber-risk in cardiology directly interviewing the actors working in this field, using a properly designed questionnaire submitted using mobile technology. RESULTS: Fifty seven cardiologists participated in the study and filled the proposed questionnaire on their smartphone/tablet. From a global point of view the output of this work allowed to highlight some important issues related to the perception of the cybersecurity specifically on the actors working in the field of the cardiology as for example their opinion on the received and/or needed training. CONCLUSIONS: A properly designed questionnaire has been: (I) proposed to investigate the perception of the cybersecurity among subjects working in cardiology; (II) successfully submitted to 57 cardiologists highlighting some critically important issues.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: There is an increasing discussion concerning the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into medical decision-making. AI science is a branch of engineering that implements novel concepts to resolve complex challenges and defined as the theory and development of computer systems to perform tasks which would normally require human intelligence. AI could aid cardiologists in improving decision-making, workflow, productivity, cost-effectiveness, and ultimately, patient outcomes. The present study proposes a tool for a positioning exercise in cardiology using mobile technology. METHODS: This study is based on a dedicated tool with electronic surveys that collect the opinions, requirements, and desires of the interested actors including both laypeople and professionals. RESULTS: The tool was tested on 30 cardiologists and 30 subjects not involved in health care. The data-analysis revealed several clear trends on the cardiologists: (I) a high desire to invest in AI; (II) high confidence in the use of AI in several fields of cardiology from risk prevention to diagnostics in medical imaging; (III) low confidence in the use of AI in quality control procedures; (IV) a strong belief that ethical issues are hampering the diffusion of AI to different fields. The data-analysis on the 30 subjects not involved in health care highlighted that AI is still not well known and therefore looked with suspicious. CONCLUSIONS: The integration of AI with telemedicine and e-health is a key issue for the health care. The study highlights how the mobile technology-based positioning exercises in mHealth can be useful for health care decision makers.
