They make visible what remains hidden to the human eye. Radiological examinations support, for example, the diagnosis of cardiovascular, cancer and other diseases. Dr. Felix Nensa, a new radiology professor specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) at the Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), wants to optimize treatments.
Felix Nensa studied computer science (2001–2004) at the University of Hagen and in parallel medicine (2001–2007) at the RUB and the Université Louis-Pasteur in Strasbourg. He then worked in an IT start-up he co-founded until 2011. In 2013, he received his PhD in medicine and subsequently conducted research at UK Essen, where he has headed the AI and intelligent hospital information platform group since 2019.
The importance of AI in medicine is demonstrated, among other things, by the analysis of X‑ray or MRI images. Does AI see more than doctors:inside? “No. But it ‘looks’ at the images quite differently than we humans do and can provide us with additional insights. But ultimately, we doctors have to interpret this and decide what it means in concrete terms and what we derive from it for our patients,” says Nensa. The 41-year-old does not believe that AI will cause him to lose his job.
“If the computer takes analytical work off our hands, for example, I can concentrate more on my patients.”
- Felix Nensa
He wants to bring his results directly into clinical care. To this end, he plans, among other things, to link the radiology chair more closely with the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (IKIM) and the Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology at the UK Essen. At the same time, he will expand cooperation with medical technology companies.
In addition, Nensa wants to advance the digital handling of data at the university hospital in Essen. “Strengthening AI at the hospital is part of my professorship,” says the radiologist. The operation of the ‘Smart Hospital Information Platform’ (SHIP) had already been his core task before; the platform is used in research as well as in clinical and administrative processes.
