24 Oct 23. Michelle Williams AI Heart Image Shortlisted

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Professor Michelle Williams'  Associate Director for Imaging at the BHF Data Science Centre – has been shortlisted for the British Heart Foundation’s prestigious ‘Reflections of Research’ image competition. Michelle’s image – an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-generated heart – illustrates the complexity of the heart in vibrant colour, but also underlines the shortcomings with today’s AI in generating imagery. 

This bright neon representation of a heart entitled, "‘A window into the heart of Artificial Intelligence" has actually been created by the AI image generator Dall.e, from the sentence “An image of the heart from a computed tomography scan, digital art”. Whilst able to create a stunning image, the AI has produced a few mistakes in the anatomy and structure of this heart, most noticeably in the branching pattern of the blood vessels.   

Prof Williams is looking to see whether healthcare professionals can spot the differences between AI-generated images and real images taken from heart scans. She is also focusing on how to use AI to improve the accuracy and detail of information from heart scans, like the computed tomography (CT) scan imitated in this image.   

Prof Michelle Williams said: “AI has huge potential to improve the treatment and care of heart and circulatory disease patients, including by enhancing the diagnosis and management of these diseases with heart scanning. However, it is important to remember that, at this stage of development, it can also introduce mistakes and biases. 

 “I’m very pleased to make the shortlist for the BHF’s image competition, and for the opportunity to draw attention to these issues.” 

You can find out more from the following link: https://edin.ac/47cmDr8

Michelle was also instrumental in the delivery of the SCOT-HEART and SCOT-HEART 2 trials, and has an international reputation for her work on CT-derived coronary plaque imaging. She is Associate Director of the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre, President Elect of the British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging, an executive member of the European Society of Cardiovascular Radiology and member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography.