Enhancing Medical Task Performance in GPT-4V: A Comprehensive Study on Prompt Engineering Strategies

Original Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.04344

By: Pengcheng Chen, Ziyan Huang, Zhongying Deng, Tianbin Li, Yanzhou Su, Haoyu Wang, Jin Ye, Yu Qiao, Junjun He

Abstract:

OpenAI's latest large vision-language model (LVLM), GPT-4V(ision), has piqued considerable interest for its potential in medical applications. Despite its promise, recent studies and internal reviews highlight its underperformance in specialized medical tasks. This paper explores the boundary of GPT-4V's capabilities in medicine, particularly in processing complex imaging data from endoscopies, CT scans, and MRIs etc. Leveraging open-source datasets, we assessed its foundational competencies, identifying substantial areas for enhancement. Our research emphasizes prompt engineering, an often-underutilized strategy for improving AI responsiveness. Through iterative testing, we refined the model's prompts, significantly improving its interpretative accuracy and relevance in medical imaging. From our comprehensive evaluations, we distilled 10 effective prompt engineering techniques, each fortifying GPT-4V's medical acumen. These methodical enhancements facilitate more reliable, precise, and clinically valuable insights from GPT-4V, advancing its operability in critical healthcare environments. Our findings are pivotal for those employing AI in medicine, providing clear, actionable guidance on harnessing GPT-4V's full diagnostic potential.

Summary Notes

Enhancing Medical Task Performance with GPT-4V Prompt Engineering: A Study Overview

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, especially with advanced multimodal medical large language models (MLLMs) like GPT-4V by OpenAI, is transforming medical diagnostics and imaging.

GPT-4V's ability to process both language and images makes it a powerful tool for medical diagnostics. However, its effectiveness in complex medical tasks can be greatly improved with well-crafted prompts, a technique known as prompt engineering.

Key Insight: Skillfully designed prompts can greatly enhance GPT-4V's accuracy in medical tasks, streamlining diagnostics.

Understanding Prompt Engineering

Prompt engineering is about creating input prompts that help AI models produce accurate and relevant outputs.

For GPT-4V, this involves developing prompts that assist the model in precisely analyzing medical images. Our study focuses on optimizing these prompts to boost GPT-4V's diagnostic capabilities.

Study Methods and Techniques

We tested GPT-4V with various textual prompts alongside medical images, focusing on tasks of high difficulty to evaluate different prompt engineering strategies. Our methodology included:

• Using diverse datasets for generalizable results.
• Assessing GPT-4V's responses to these prompts.

Effective Prompt Engineering Strategies

Our research identified ten key strategies for improving prompt effectiveness:

• Clarity and Conciseness: Use straightforward language to avoid confusion.
• Task Specification: Clearly define the task or question.
• Step-by-Step Guidance: Simplify complex tasks into manageable steps.
• Objective Concealment: In discussions, don't reveal the diagnostic goal too early.
• Detailed Descriptions: Offer precise descriptions relevant to the task.
• Annotation Caution: Ensure text descriptors don't contradict image annotations.
• Contextual Clarity: Make relationships between images or data points clear.
• Image Splicing: Merge images if needed for a fuller picture.
• Comparative Analysis: Prompt the model to compare for deeper insights.
• Focus Directing: Point the model's attention to key areas in the image.

Discussion: Boosting Diagnostic Accuracy

The study shows that these prompt engineering techniques significantly improve GPT-4V's diagnostic performance.

Techniques like step-by-step guidance and focus directing notably increase the model's analysis accuracy, which is vital for medical imaging and patient outcomes.

Conclusion and Looking Forward

Prompt engineering is crucial for maximizing GPT-4V's medical task capabilities. Continued research and prompt strategy refinement are essential as AI evolves, setting the stage for more effective AI applications in healthcare diagnostics.

For AI Engineers in Healthcare

This study provides practical strategies for AI engineers in healthcare, enabling them to enhance AI models like GPT-4V in medical diagnostics. This leads to better efficiency, accuracy, and patient care.

The Future of AI in Healthcare

The integration of sophisticated AI models in healthcare promises to advance diagnostic methods and patient care.

Our study underscores the role of prompt engineering in leveraging AI's full potential in this field, offering a guide for future AI application and optimization in healthcare.