Begin typing your search...
Artificial Intelligence, the third eye for doctors
Artificial Intelligence is widely regarded as the next phase of evolution in the healthcare sector, like how technological advancements of the last century had propelled it to the modern age. India, however, is far away from the cutting edge tech, hampered by lack of funding for research
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The last century gave us the hardware that enabled doctors to look at the patients and their conditions closely. Now, we are on the cusp of developing the intelligence that can interpret this data better. That, in short, is the promise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare. For a country like India that is struggling with lack of required number of medical professionals, it not only holds the promise of wider reach and superior quality, it can also make predictions that can prevent diseases, say experts.
For instance, by analysing past data and factoring in latest information including meteorological department’s predictions on rain among others, AI can find a pattern for spike in mosquito menace – and thus the probability of dengue, malaria and other vector-borne diseases. “It can identify which part of the state could be hotspots for mosquitoes and would it require targeted measures including fumigation,” explained Dr Sunil Shroff, a urologist in the city.
AI can also be useful in diagnostic purposes like mass screening for diabetic retinopathy, added Dr Shroff, noting how shortage of ophthalmologists has been a long-standing problem in our country. “AI can say if retinal images are normal or not, and whether it is essential for the person to visit a doctor in person,” he said.
It was the Western countries that first began exploring the advantages of AI in healthcare. But experts here say India should look to emulate the thrust that China has accorded to this new opportunity. The government there has already initiated a programme to adopt AI in healthcare, which is expected to improve its doctor-patient ratio in the next few years. The importance given to the field was clear at the international conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) last year, when nearly a quarter of the papers were presented by Chinese researchers.
Still in early stages in India
In contrast, the initiatives are still in the nascent stages in India. Three months ago, a hospital in Bengaluru had announced that efforts were on to develop an AI enabled software to detect eye diseases. Similarly, Apollo Hospitals and Microsoft have entered into a partnership to create AI Network for Healthcare, an AI-focused network on cardiology.
Doctors at the hospital said effort was to develop new machine learning models to predict patient risk for heart diseases and to assist doctors in treatment plans. The team, they added, was already working on an AI-powered Cardio API (application programme interface) platform. “Our unique partnership with Apollo brings together our learnings in AI and machine learning areas and Apollo’s experience and expertise in cardiology,” Dr Peter Lee, Corporate Vice President, AI Research, Microsoft, was quoted as saying during the launch of the programme.
AI could help address blindness, one of the biggest problems that the country is facing, said Dr Amar Agarwal, chairman and MD, Agarwal Eye Hospitals, adding that it could also help detect risks like Alzheimer’s disease. “Not only can AI be used for early diagnosis, it can also be utilised to advance treatment. However, in India, the work has only started. Research is still in the beginning [stages],” Dr Agarwal said. According to him, these efforts require substantial funding, including from philanthropists. “It is the future and we can show the world the way forward. But India has a long way to go,” he said.
Besides shortage of funds, one of the biggest challenges that experts are facing is the lack of clean data. “We can get a good interpretation only if the data fed into the system is clean, which is a big problem in our country,” said Dr Shroff.
THREE USES OF AI IN HEALTHCARE
- ANALYSING PATTERNS: The most common usage now is to employ algorithm to detect patterns, which would in turn help in predicting an outbreak or a possible outcome. Research has shown how it was possible to identify patients whose condition was likely to deteriorate, which the doctors could prevent by taking extra care. It can also help finalise a treatment protocol by factoring in the age, lifestyle, family history and all such details.
- VISUAL DIAGNOSIS: AI can look at thousands of pieces of past data to analyse and find out anomalies much better than the human eye. The visual pattern recognition software is already considered superior to human eye in interpreting results from radiology, pathology, ophthalmology and dermatology, and is expected to get better in the coming days.
- DIAGNOSIS: This is trickier than the other two, as this has an additional element, often called intuition. Beyond information and learning, this is a matter of approach, which is not easy for a machine to learn. Efforts are on to learn more from the experts so that AI can be improved upon in the near future.
Visit news.dtnext.in to explore our interactive epaper!
Download the DT Next app for more exciting features!
Click here for iOS
Click here for Android
Next Story
