AI Helps Radiology. Does It Help Radiologists?
Apr 1, 2026
The cybersphere contains innumerable commentaries from industry experts and radiologists about the current and future state of AI in medical imaging. Ten years ago, Nobel Prize winner Geoffey Hinton, one of the world’s leading AI scientists, said we should stop training radiologists now because in five years AI would outperform humans. Yet today we suffer from a severe shortage of radiologists, even as interest among medical students in pursuing radiology has slightly dipped.
Data from the recent residency match showed:
Total Positions: Diagnostic Radiology (DR) offered 1,241 positions (+31 from 2025).
Fill Rates: Radiology saw a slightly lower position fill rate of 97.6% (compared to 98.4% in 2025).
Applicant Numbers: The applicant pool for radiology has seen a decline since a 2023 peak.
Competition: Despite the increased slots, high-stats applicants remain high, and top-tier programs are extremely competitive.
So where has AI helped medical imaging?
Noise-reduction algorithms have shortened exam times for many modalities, including CT, MR, NM, and PT. As a result, we can perform even more exams per day and more images per exam.
AI algorithms that triage medical images, particularly in the ER environment, have detected more findings for radiologists to review, perhaps increasing medical quality, but certainly resulting in more hospital admissions. In fact, the value proposition for triage algorithms when they are sold to hospitals is that they will result in more admissions and more medical workups.
AI related to clinical reporting has undoubtedly improved radiologist efficiency by auto-correcting mistakes and auto-generating report impressions.
AI is revolutionizing the speed and efficiency of creating software, which will ultimately lead to better, faster, cheaper workflow solutions.
What we have not seen on a macro-scale is AI reducing the demand for radiologists, while the threat of AI may be slightly decreasing the supply. Is it possible that the next wave of AI will function to reduce the stress of radiologists, reduce burn-out, and improve happiness, rather than eliminate us?
Murray A. Reicher, MD, FACR
CEO Synthesis Health
