A Scalable Machine Learning Approach for Inferring Probabilistic US-LI-RADS Categorization

TL;DR

This paper introduces a scalable machine learning method that automatically infers LI-RADS categories from ultrasound reports, including unstructured ones, without human-labeled data, aiding standardization and research in liver cancer diagnosis.

Contribution

The study presents a novel automated approach that infers LI-RADS scores from both structured and unstructured ultrasound reports without requiring manual labeling.

Findings

Successfully inferred LI-RADS scores from unstructured reports.

No human-labeled data needed for training.

Facilitates large-scale data analysis and standardization.

Abstract

We propose a scalable computerized approach for large-scale inference of Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) final assessment categories in narrative ultrasound (US) reports. Although our model was trained on reports created using a LI-RADS template, it was also able to infer LI-RADS scoring for unstructured reports that were created before the LI-RADS guidelines were established. No human-labelled data was required in any step of this study; for training, LI-RADS scores were automatically extracted from those reports that contained structured LI-RADS scores, and it translated the derived knowledge to reasoning on unstructured radiology reports. By providing automated LI-RADS categorization, our approach may enable standardizing screening recommendations and treatment planning of patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, and it may facilitate AI-based healthcare research with US images by offering large scale text mining and data gathering opportunities from standard hospital clinical data repositories.