Artificial intelligence (A.I.) is poised to have an immense impact on the medical field. This will be wide-reaching from drug development to surgical procedures. It’s undeniable that there are countless benefits to integrating A.I. into healthcare to support patients and medical professionals. A.I. can identify complex issues and read through megadata sets. It learns from itself and can predict the likely outcomes of a problem. Because of this, it has the potential to completely change and revolutionize the industry. Here are seven ways in which this could happen.
Robotic surgery assisted by A.I.
There’s nothing new in the medical industry with surgical robots, as they’ve assisted surgeons for nearly three decades, either working beside surgeons or remotely via telesurgery. The potential here is that surgical robots could only work as an extension of a surgeon’s hands and could not act independently. With A.I., they could be empowered to do so. A.I. can work in conjunction with a surgeon by using its own talents to automate less-critical tasks, such as suturing, and reducing surgeon-to-surgeon variations, collecting data from every surgery to find improvements to future procedures. It’s possible that the future of surgery is that A.I. robots are the only surgeons present; until then, they can work together with doctors in the hospital.
A.I. nursing assistants
Having a human nurse by your bedside is certainly a comforting thing — that isn’t going to change anytime soon, but there is room for virtual nursing assistants. These would be powered by A.I. and their entire focus is supporting patients. They can listen, talk, give advice and make decisions. They simply follow a program prescribed by the attending doctor and check in on patients and medications and signal the doctor if they’re needed. This will lead to improved patient care and experience, as well as better quality of care and medical outcomes.
Medical diagnoses
A.I. algorithms have shown that they can be quicker and more accurate than doctors in diagnosing some diseases. According to Ruth Branson, a healthcare blogger at State of Writing and Academized, “certain hospitals are already working with A.I.-powered platforms to detect certain types of diseases, such as heart disease or lung cancer. The advantages here are clear, from faster and truer diagnoses, reduced costs for giving a diagnosis, and ability to diagnose patients in remote locations.”
Medical imaging
A.I.’s ability to process countless images at high speed can also save many lives. Image analysis platforms that are based on A.I. currently exist. They reduce the time needed to perform medical imaging procedures, provide enhanced 2D and 3D imaging, and enhance the diagnosis capabilities.
Drug research
A.I. technology is helping to discover new medications. Large pharmaceutical companies are using A.I. platforms to speed up drug discoveries for various treatments. A.I. platforms can also assist in locating drug candidates. There are multi-million-dollar projects underway aimed at discovering molecules and cellular phenotypes, which are crucial for drug discovery.
Clinical trials
Data is key in clinical trials, from the selection of participants to the trial itself, and this is where A.I. can really be useful. Predictive analysis — adapting when criteria changes — can make quick work of big data. Peter Sellers, a health writer at Ox Essays and Elite Assignment Help, explains that “clinical trials are really important for medical research and have a huge impact on the development of medications, treatments, and patient care. With A.I., these can now occur more efficiently, at a lower cost, and with higher accuracy of results.”
Data security
Medical information is incredibly useful to criminals that want to steal your identity or sell it to the highest bidder. Because of the high value of medical records, there have been many major breaches of data in the last decade. A.I. can be a possible new solution to maintain trust in our medical institutions’ ability to keep our records secure. A.I. can identify patterns that can signal known or unknown malware, and when any intrusion attempts are detected the medical network can be shut down by A.I. very quickly.
Although some of these aspects require more research and development of A.I. platforms, there are already key advances occurring in the medical field due to A.I., and the impact will only be greater as time goes on.
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