A group of UK scientists has received a grant of almost $2 million to develop artificial intelligence (AI) that will help detect tooth decay and gum disease on X-rays.
The National Institute for Health Research, the UK's largest funder of clinical and translational research, has awarded a grant to a team led by researchers from the University of Surrey. The grant will support work to develop an AI model to recognize abnormalities in dental X-rays.
“Efforts so far have involved collecting a representative set of annotated radiographs and training a specially designed AI model to identify dental diseases,” said project leader Dr. Yunpeng Li, a senior lecturer in AI.
Ultimately, the project's goal is to provide a one-stop solution for collecting and annotating dental radiographs to aid in disease diagnosis, as well as offering recommendations on how best to implement the technology in clinical settings.
“The technology could save valuable time and money if implemented more widely, allowing dentists to detect abnormalities as early as the pop-up stage and read radiographs with higher accuracy,” Lee added.
The project involves researchers from King's College London, the Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and the Oral Health Foundation.