Medical imaging has had a dramatic effect on the human experience, and it will continue to do so, according to a new book called “The Future of Seeing: How Imaging is Changing Our World” and written by NYU Langone Health researcher Daniel Sodickson, MD, PhD.
Daniel Sodickson, MD, PhD
Sodickson is chief of innovation in the department of radiology and principal investigator at the Center for Advanced Imaging Innovation and Research at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. The book was published by Columbia University Press on October 14, and in it, Sodickson traces the origins of imaging and suggests ways it could continue to revolutionize healthcare.
Imaging is a “transformative technology,” Sodickson said in a video interview with AuntMinnie. He discussed what prompted him to write the book.
AI will be part of the further transformation of medical imaging by helping to develop imaging “memory” that could make it even more of a prognostic tool, he said. Using the two in this way wouldn’t replace current state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging, but could act as an early warning system — and make imaging very accessible.
If the use of AI with imaging could track changes in a person’s health, and wouldn’t necessarily require “top-notch data” to do this, imaging could move out into the world in what Sodickson calls “everywhere scanners.”
Sodickson explained that, although medical imaging is often considered to be “radically distinct” from other forms of seeing, such as astronomy, microscopy — even digital cameras — “they all have common origins.”
The bottom line? In a new era of proactive health, “imaging will be a primary tool,” according to Sodickson.
“Whenever we expand our vision, we invariably expand our minds,” he said.
Read an excerpt from Sodickson’s book here.