Role of Edge Device and Cloud Machine Learning in Point-of-Care Solutions Using Imaging Diagnostics for Population Screening

Edge devices are revolutionizing diagnostics. Edge devices can reside within or adjacent to imaging tools such as digital Xray, CT, MRI, or ultrasound equipment. These devices are either CPUs or GPUs with advanced processing deep and machine learning (artificial intelligence) algorithms that assist in classification and triage solutions to flag studies as either normal or abnormal, TB or healthy (in case of TB screening), suspected COVID-19/other pneumonia or unremarkable (in hospital or hotspot settings). These can be deployed as screening point-of-care (PoC) solutions; this is particularly true for digital and portable X-ray devices. Edge device learning can also be used for mammography and CT studies where it can identify microcalcification and stroke, respectively. These solutions can be considered the first line of pre-screening before the imaging specialist actually reviews scans and makes a final diagnosis. The key advantage of these tools is that they are instant, can be deployed remotely where experts are not available to perform pre-screening before the experts actually review, and are not limited by internet bandwidth as the nano learning data centers are placed next to the device.