by Whitney Howell of Diagnostic Imaging – Identifying these easily missed breaks can save patients from future negative complications or loss of function.

A significant number of the most common type of wrist fracture go undetected on X-ray images, setting patients up for potential problems downstream. But, a new artificial intelligence (AI)-based automated system can improve detection rates.

Scaphoid fractures, which typically occur when someone braces from a fall with their hands, are breaks to one of the small bones in the wrist. They account for up to 89 percent of carpal bone fractures and make up approximately 7 percent of all skeletal fractures. They are difficult to see radiologically, though.

“Consequently, scaphoid fractures can be overlooked during initial X-ray examinations,” said study author Nils Hendrix, a doctoral candidate at the Jeroen Bosch Hospital and Jheronimus Academy of Data Science in The Netherlands.

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