Mount Sinai study finds radiologists struggle to detect AI X-rays
Turns out, even experienced radiologists are having trouble telling real X-rays from ones created by AI.
A new study from Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine had 17 radiologists from around the world try to spot fake medical images, and most found it surprisingly tough.
This raises some real concerns about deepfake X-rays sneaking into healthcare and making diagnoses riskier.
Informed radiologists reached 75% accuracy
Radiologists who knew they might be looking at AI-made images did better (75% accuracy), but those kept in the dark only got it right 41% of the time.
Specialists in musculoskeletal imaging were a bit better at spotting fakes than others.
The researchers also tested popular AI models (including ChatGPT-4o) and their accuracy ranged roughly from 52% to 89% across the tests.
Lead researcher Dr. Mickael Tordjman says we need better tools and training so doctors can keep up with these ultra-realistic fakes, which often look too smooth and symmetrical compared to real scans.