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China has introduced new ethical guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence in medical imaging research, seeking to promote the safe, responsible and clinically appropriate development of the technology.
The Ministry of Science and Technology announced the guidelines on Friday.
AI-powered medical imaging can analyse CT scans, MRI images and ultrasound results, helping doctors detect diseases and improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis. However, its growing use also raises concerns over sensitive health data, privacy, cybersecurity, algorithmic bias and accountability.
The new guidelines, issued by the medical ethics subcommittee of the National Science and Technology Ethics Committee, outline six key principles: promoting human welfare, ensuring fairness, respecting human autonomy, protecting privacy and data security, maintaining safety and control, and enhancing transparency.
The guidelines emphasise that patients’ health and interests must remain the top priority.
Researchers conducting AI medical imaging studies must obtain informed consent from participants, who will also have the right to withdraw their consent at any time.
The rules further clarify that humans, rather than AI systems, will remain ultimately responsible for medical decisions. AI-generated findings cannot serve as final diagnoses, and doctors will retain the final authority over clinical decisions.
The guidelines also prohibit exaggerated claims about the performance and capabilities of AI models.
Researchers and developers have been urged to ensure greater fairness in AI systems and minimise the risk of biased diagnoses resulting from incomplete or unbalanced training data.
The new framework is intended to encourage responsible AI innovation in healthcare while keeping patient safety, privacy and human oversight at the centre of medical imaging research and clinical practice.