Artificial Intelligence in Veterinary Imaging: An Overview

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Artificial intelligence is emerging in the field of veterinary medical imaging. The development of this area in medicine has introduced new concepts and scientific terminologies that professionals must be able to have some understanding of, such as the following: machine learning, deep learning, convolutional neural networks, and transfer learning. This paper offers veterinary professionals an overview of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning focused on imaging diagnosis. A review is provided of the existing literature on artificial intelligence in veterinary imaging of small animals, together with a brief conclusion. ABSTRACT: Artificial intelligence and machine learning have been increasingly used in the medical imaging field in the past few years. The evaluation of medical images is very subjective and complex, and therefore the application of artificial intelligence and deep learning methods to automatize the analysis process would be very beneficial. A lot of researchers have been applying these methods to image analysis diagnosis, developing software capable of assisting veterinary doctors or radiologists in their daily practice. This article details the main methodologies used to develop software applications on machine learning and how veterinarians with an interest in this field can benefit from such methodologies. The main goal of this study is to offer veterinary professionals a simple guide to enable them to understand the basics of artificial intelligence and machine learning and the concepts such as deep learning, convolutional neural networks, transfer learning, and the performance evaluation method. The language is adapted for medical technicians, and the work already published in this field is reviewed for application in the imaging diagnosis of different animal body systems: musculoskeletal, thoracic, nervous, and abdominal.