The AI Will See You Now
Robots aren’t going to take your doctor’s job; they just want to make it easier.
Pop culture has been predicting robot doctors for decades. And with the advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), that future might not be so far-fetched, but with one big difference: instead of replacing doctors, AI is helping healthcare professionals do their jobs more efficiently. This isn’t just about telemedicine or digital transformation, it’s about creating something new to drive the future of health.
At the core of this transformation is something at the heart of AI: data and machine learning. Machine learning uses algorithms to parse data, learn from it, and then use that knowledge to make recommendations or predictions. To be truly useful, data must move into the public domain so that AI can employ machine learning on a wide pool. In a medical setting, this becomes an incredibly useful tool.
AI can become a subject matter expert over time, learning how to recognize the traits of illnesses or medical conditions, and more crucially, abnormalities that need further investigation.
Integrating AI with imaging equipment, such as MRI, x-ray, and ultrasound, can deliver more accurate results faster. Deep learning can continually improve image sharpness, meaning patients spend less time in machines – better for their wellbeing and for hospitals looking to serve more patients. Breast cancer survival rates could improve with AI-powered software supporting faster and more accurate diagnoses through the automatic cross-referencing of ultrasounds against the industry-standard BI-RADS® scoring system.
AI also can empower self-assessments, which has been particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic. One example is a GE-powered smartphone app that features a quick questionnaire powered by AI used to assess how likely it is that users have COVID-19. This service shows how AI can transform lives by expanding healthcare access to remote areas.
One of the most important roles that AI will play in hospitals and clinics is to free up healthcare professionals to spend more time with patients, and more quickly diagnose and design best-practice treatment plans. AI’s ability to assess a patient’s condition against millions of data points puts additional guidance in the hands of doctors. With enhanced information, they can make better decisions that will improve patient outcomes.
Edison is GE Healthcare’s intelligence platform, providing a full menu of medical AI applications and solutions. With Edison, hospitals and clinics can consolidate data from multiple sources and then apply analytics and algorithms to generate insights. With Cloud access, healthcare professionals can get the information they need wherever they are, whether it’s in the lab or at a patient’s bedside.
What underlines AI development is the desire to improve patient lives by supporting healthcare professionals. AI has never been about reducing doctor interactions with patients. Rather, it’s a complementary service that will become increasingly valuable as more data builds more insights.
Above all else, AI helps to put patients at the center of healthcare.