Researchers are working on various ways in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help the healthcare industry. AI offers massive potential value to the healthcare industry, from assisting doctors in using robotic hands, innovative drug discovery to early detection of diseases. If predictions are even partly correct, AI could revolutionise how people access healthcare, the way in which health and care services are delivered and the health of global society.
How can AI be beneficial to the healthcare industry?
AI, in general, offers some distinct advantages. Some of those benefits include unparalleled accuracy, the capability to process millions of images at speed, automating repetitive workflows, making the most out of existing technologies, and superior security that upgrades over time. These same qualities can lend value to the healthcare industry when AI is appropriately implemented. Additionally, AI can lend even more value in its application when used with other technologies. An example of this is the use of AI and immersive technology. That is because immersive technology can provide visual capacity whilst AI offers advanced cognitive function. Such hybrid uses of these sophisticated technologies will inevitably transform the healthcare industry in the near future and improve the quality of human lives significantly.
Various use cases of AI in the future of healthcare:
There are several applications where AI is currently being considered to be resourceful for healthcare workers. Here’s a list of some of those use cases where AI may shape the future of the healthcare industry:
- Automated image diagnosis: Image Recognition and Computer Vision are subdomains of Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning (ML). Many medical applications rely on medical imaging, and AI can diagnose those images. The potential of this use of AI is already being realised with organisations trialling and, in some cases, using the technology to improve the diagnosis of disease.
- Drug discovery: Drugs are made based on various compositions in them. AI can learn which compositions can be used where and apply similar logic to discover new or better drugs for any diseases based on the characteristics of those compositions. Increasing the speed and effectiveness of drugs has the potential to save and improve the lives of millions of people in perpetuity. This alone is a cause for excitement.
- Robot assistance in surgeries: Robotic hands do not feel, nor do they shake. With the use of robotics, AI can offer healthcare unparalleled accuracy of clinical operations. Subjective decisions made by healthcare professionals, including surgeons, can be supported by AI to improve the accuracy of the decision-making process. When supported by immersive technology, the outcomes of decisions before they are made can be visualised, helping to ensure better outcomes for patients.
Training healthcare workers with AI
This one deserves a separate mention as it is a substantial application that could change the healthcare industry. Currently, healthcare organisations use systems such as Datix to record occurrences of where something has gone wrong or could have done so. These occurrences can include events such as medication errors and falls amongst patients. Incident recording can also include staff-related occurrences where harm has been or could have been caused to healthcare staff. Typically, larger organisations can record thousands to tens of thousands of incidents annually. Data is often manually assessed by in house experts, but the analysis can be subjective and time-consuming. This inevitably means that recommendations to reduce or eliminate the additional risk of harm can also be subjective. Joined up thinking across disciplines, organisations and sectors is not commonplace.
Now imagine that AI could process and analyse every patient and staff-related incident across multiple disciplines and organisations within a sector. It could analyse commonalities in incidents that humans cannot and produce recommendations based on objective insights. In an instant, millions of past incidents could be cross-referenced, picked apart and correlated to predict what may happen in the future. This is not such a far-fetched idea as AI is already being used in this way by the US Defence Department to predict future events as part of its security strategy. What is certain is that the application of AI will develop and could be potentially game-changing for healthcare globally.
Conclusion
It is not often that there’s a perfect fit between a technology and a particular industry. Still, in the case of the healthcare industry, there is a way to go. AI offers the potential to transcend medical development to the future within a short timeframe. It offers limitless possibilities with complementing support from immersive technologies and connectivity. In the years to come, it is likely that AI will continue to learn, develop, and become more prevalent in multiple applications within all industries.