SDAIA, KAUST launch MiniGPT-Med model to help diagnose medical radiology

The Center of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) have unveiled the MiniGPT-Med model.

The innovative tool leverages artificial intelligence (AI) to assist doctors in accurately and swiftly diagnosing medical radiology.

How does it work?

The MiniGPT-Med model is a large multi-modal language model designed specifically for medical applications.

According to Dr. Ahmed Alsinan, the Artificial Intelligence Advisor at the National Center for Artificial Intelligence and head of the scientific team at SDAIA, "The MiniGPT-Med model is capable of performing various tasks such as generating medical reports, answering medical visual questions, describing diseases, locating diseases, identifying diseases, and documenting medical descriptions based on entered medical images."

The model was meticulously trained on various types of medical images — including X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs — to enhance its diagnostic capabilities.

The open-sourced code of miniGPT-Med is available on GitHub.

Why does it matter?

The MiniGPT-Med model represents a significant advancement in medical diagnostics. It offers a versatile interface for radiology diagnosis, enabling healthcare professionals to improve diagnostic efficiency.

Dr. Alsinan noted that the model "exhibits advanced performance in generating medical reports, achieving 19% higher efficiency than previous models."

This improvement in efficiency can lead to faster and more accurate diagnoses, which is crucial in the medical field, where timely and precise information can significantly impact patient outcomes.

The context

The development of the MiniGPT-Med model was a collaborative effort between artificial intelligence experts from SDAIA and KAUST. This partnership underscores the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in advancing medical technology. The model's ability to handle various imaging methods such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRI showcases its potential utility across various medical imaging applications.

As Dr. Alsinan highlighted, the MiniGPT-Med model serves as a "general interface for radiology diagnosis, enhancing diagnostic efficiency across various medical imaging applications," marking a significant milestone in integrating AI in healthcare.