To open up the world of cutting-edge research into medical imaging, ART x SCIENCE brought together students from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Smart Medical Imaging and the Royal College of Art. This is an experiment into what can happen when professionals from two seemingly different worlds collaborate. How will their differences – their backgrounds, skills, and perspectives – and their similarities – the fact that both rely on inquiry and questioning – combine?
Driven by curiosity, the pairs shared their knowledge, broke down concepts and thought up new ideas to spark conversations around developments in healthcare technology. Initially, they designed physical exhibits that invited you to play with and get a feel for the research of the CDT students. Then Covid-19 and lockdown came along and the pairs rapidly adapted. Working from the safety of their respective homes and communicating over patchy zoom calls they each created an innovative digital response that harnessed their technical skills and flexed their creativity.
Artificial Intelligence investigates the creation of synthetic digital body parts to train artificial intelligence, and questions the ethics of using machine learning to make complex moral decisions. Meanwhile, Ultra illustrates the potential of ultrasound to diagnose strokes and explore the sound of the inside of the brain.
ART x SCIENCE wants you to have your say on the research behind the exhibits. You are invited to share your opinions: do you trust AI? Would you allow your data to be used for the sake of improving healthcare? Would you let someone listen to the inside of your brain? These insights are fundamental for the research community to understand, so that they can continue to ensure that their work is informed, trusted and that it suits the needs of society.
