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Preliminary Clinical Evaluation in Cross-Sectional Imaging: A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Ethical Considerations in the Era of Artificial Intelligence

Introduction The evolving role of radiographers in Preliminary Clinical Evaluation (PCE), alongside the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into radiography workflows, is reshaping professional boundaries and enhancing patient care. However, this introduces ethical challenges that may impact PCE performance. This study explored the perspectives of cross-sectional imaging radiographers on the ethical dimensions of PCE and the potential impact of AI on the future practice of PCE. Method A descriptive quali…

By the Truvace desk1 min read1 sourcePeer-reviewedTRV-2026-1928· cite & verify
Preliminary Clinical Evaluation in Cross-Sectional Imaging: A Qualitative Inquiry Into the Ethical Considerations in the Era of Artificial Intelligence
Number of published AI governance guideline documents by country by Authors of the study: Nicholas Kluge Corrêa Camila Galvão James William Santos Carolina Del Pino Edson Pontes Pinto Camila Barbosa Diogo Massmann Rodrigo Mambrini Luiza Galvão Edmund Terem Nythamar de Oliveira. CC BY 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

In brief

Researchers interviewed twelve UK-university postgraduate radiographers who work in CT and MRI to learn how they view the ethics of preliminary clinical evaluation, where radiographers give an early read of scans, and how AI might change that role. Interview data were analysed thematically.

The findings suggest radiographers welcome AI as a supportive tool but want it introduced carefully, with ethics training, validation and quality assurance. With only twelve participants and views rather than measured outcomes, it remains uncertain how AI would actually affect patient safety or skills.

Main points

  1. The study used semi-structured interviews with twelve cross-sectional imaging radiographers and reflexive thematic analysis in NVivo.
  2. One theme covered PCE ethics: privacy and confidentiality, communication boundaries, and legal compliance.
  3. A second theme covered human-centred PCE with AI: augmentation and support, workflow efficiency, and PCE validation and quality assurance.
  4. The authors call for PCE-specific ethics in radiography education and practice to ensure consistency, accountability and safety.

The gain

Interviewed cross-sectional imaging radiographers were cautiously optimistic that AI could augment and support preliminary clinical evaluation and improve workflow efficiency.

The rundown

Participants had 2 to 8 years of clinical experience; half worked in public hospitals and the rest in private or mixed settings. Half had expertise in both CT and MRI and the rest in CT only, and five had practised in multiple countries.

The authors describe radiographers' evolving role in preliminary clinical evaluation, together with AI integration, as reshaping professional boundaries and enhancing patient care, while also raising ethical challenges that may affect PCE performance.

Their conclusion recommends cautious AI adoption to avoid deskilling and to preserve expertise, and says PCE-specific ethics should be incorporated into education and practice.

Sources

  1. Peer-reviewedJournal of Medical Radiation Sciences2026-10-14

The debate