Finding COVID-19 from Chest X-rays using Deep Learning on a Small Dataset

Abstract

<p>Testing for COVID-19 has been unable to keep up with the demand. Further, the false negative rate is projected to be as high as 30% and test results can take some time to obtain. X-ray machines are widely available and provide images for diagnosis quickly. This paper explores how useful chest X-ray images can be in diagnosing COVID-19 disease. We have obtained 122 chest X-rays of COVID-19 and over 4,000 chest X-rays of viral and bacterial pneumonia. Unfortunately, we missed the fact that the chest X-rays of viral and bacterial pneumonia came from children under 5 years old. So, this work shows that you can tell kids with pneumonia from COVID-19 adult cases which is not anyone's goal. However, data from adult chest X-rays of other causes of lung disease is needed to see if you can tell adult diseases apart.<br></p>