Woman claims Elon Musk's Grok identified daughter's fracture after doctors couldn't: 'Very grateful'

Following this revelation, AJ Kay sought a second opinion from a wrist specialist.

A mother’s claim about Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, identifying a fracture in her daughter's wrist that medical professionals initially missed has sparked a heated discussion about the role of AI in healthcare. The incident, shared on X (formerly Twitter) by a user known as AJ Kay, highlighted the potential of AI to revolutionise medical diagnostics while raising questions about its reliability and limitations.

According to Kay, her daughter was involved in a serious car accident. Although her daughter initially walked away from the crash, she later complained of severe arm pain. Concerned, Kay took her to an urgent care centre where X-rays were conducted. The medical team, including a doctor and a radiologist, concluded there was no fracture, attributing the visible line on the X-ray to a growth plate. Her daughter was sent home with ibuprofen and an ace wrap.

However, her condition worsened. The girl experienced symptoms including a cold, tingling hand, difficulty moving her thumb, and an abnormal appearance of the wrist. Trusting her instincts, Kay began researching further and recalled Musk’s claim that Grok had the ability to analyse medical images.

Kay uploaded her daughter’s X-rays to Grok and asked the chatbot to identify any abnormalities. To her surprise, the AI chatbot identified a “clear fracture line in the distal radius,” contradicting the initial diagnosis from the urgent care team.

"I pored over X-rays of normal wrists and broken wrists and, remembering a post from @elonmusk about Grok2’s capability to read medical images, I uploaded the X-ray and asked if there were any abnormalities. Grok: ‘There’s a clear fracture line in the distal radius,’” Kay shared in a detailed post on X.

Following this revelation, Kay sought a second opinion from a wrist specialist. The specialist conducted additional X-rays and confirmed Grok’s diagnosis: a distal radial head fracture with dorsal displacement. The specialist noted that if treatment had been delayed, surgery might have been required. Thanks to the AI’s input, timely intervention allowed for effective treatment without invasive procedures.

True story: @Grok diagnosed my daughters broken wrist last week.One of my daughters was in a bad car accident last weekend. Car is totaled but she walked away. Everyone involved did, thankfully. It was a best case outcome for a serious, multi-vehicle freeway collision. pic.twitter.com/fRNh81WX0N
AJ Kay (@AJKayWriter) January 11, 2025

Kay’s post garnered widespread attention, sparking a debate about the role of AI in healthcare.

One user wrote, “Doctors are human and make mistakes, but this shows AI can be a powerful second opinion.” Another commented, “Should we really trust AI with something as sensitive as healthcare?” A third added, “Oh wow. My takeaway—always trust a mother’s instinct, even over experts.”

Some users criticised the urgent care team for their oversight, while others speculated that poor-quality X-ray imaging might have contributed to the misdiagnosis.

Grok, which recently gained image analysis capabilities, has been the subject of much discussion since its launch. While its ability to detect a fracture in this instance underscores the promise of AI in medical diagnostics, it also raises questions about the potential for over-reliance on such tools.

Kay herself admitted to having initial scepticism about large language models (LLMs) like Grok but described this experience as “eye-opening.” She concluded her post by urging vigilance in medical situations and praising the role of technology as a complementary tool in healthcare.