even better than a human eye . They are also able to provide a pathological diagnosis based on the AI input which lessens the further downstream use of other unnecessary tests .
3 . Pathological analysis The field of pathology ( diseases ) has often been in the background , but with AI and molecular medicine the role of the pathologist has come to the forefront and is now at the cutting-edge of every diagnostic advancement . In the future , a pathologist will be aided by an AI enhanced diagnostic tool in almost everything he does , and it will be faster , more accurate , and cheaper .
4 . In diagnosing diseases and making clinical judgements This field is growing every single day . With AI algorithms , we will be able to detect anything from a heart attack using body-wearables to detecting skin cancer . A very good example is an AI programme that can query medical records , analyse image-based diagnoses , and provide an accurate diagnosis of the disease after careful evaluation , all by itself . A good real-life example of this is a paper from China published in Nature magazine , where they used AI to evaluate and accurately diagnose paediatric diseases , with stunning accuracy . There are many such programmes being trialled or evaluated , which will be commonplace in the next 5 – 10 years .
5 . AI-assisted robotic surgery Surgeons pride themselves in their accuracy and high skills when operating alone , but now we have studies to show that AI robots can use data from past surgeries to chart a new path for newer surgical techniques , so that the accuracy and the time taken can be improved . As I write this , we already know that robotic assisted surgery with the Da Vinci platform can perform complex procedures with greater accuracy and better surgical outcomes . It has been estimated that close to US $ 50 – 60 billion a year will be saved when the robot and AI fields in surgery are enhanced .
6 . Robotic and end-of-life care The convalescing world is one of the least developed in the healthcare industry in terms of aftercare and where our ageing population is . AI and robotics are playing and will play a bigger role in the care of our elderly patients in the hospital and in places like hospices . Robots with AI programmes have friendly humanoid faces and use sensors and cameras to gather and analyse real-time data where algorithms can be extrapolated to diagnose whether someone is showing signs of dementia .
7 . Nursing and physician assistants We may consider this area to be the last frontier for AI as human empathy in the field of nursing has a
AI-assisted procedures may represent the future of surgery
large quotient . But AI will allow those in this field to go through naturalistic simulations using tablets or handphones , meaning the challenges from nursing will be continually adjusted to meet the needs of the patient in a quicker and more efficient way , while training can be done with quick catch-up sessions , handphones , or even while travelling .
AI in healthcare is not science fiction anymore . It ’ s already there as part of our daily lives and will be the next big disruptive trend in the healthcare industry . It will change the way patients look at their doctors and also how the medical community responds to the need of patients . In a world of personalised molecular medicine , it ’ s not farfetched to say , “ I have an appointment with my AI doctor , and I will do it through my handphone ”.
Dr Aneez D . B . Ahmed is the Director of the International Centre for Thoracic Surgery at Mount Elizabeth Novena Hospital in Singapore .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com JUNE 2021
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