Today, AI technologies have found a place in every aspect of human life — health is not an exception. The global fight on COVID-19 has only advanced the position of AI to revolutionize on-site and remote healthcare. Recent developments allow choosing from a range of healthcare options both at the hospital and at home.
Let’s stay positive and see how the medical sector got upgraded in the past few months. Artificial intelligence helps doctors out when they are swamped with duties on the one side, and levels up the patient care on the other.
Healthcare democratized thanks to AI
With the help of new AI-driven apps and devices, the world can turn to remote and virtual hospitals. Artificial intelligence brings up the bright side of the healthcare system globally, as it boosts:
- The Patient-Centered Approach
- Healthcare Communication
- Data-Driven Medicine
- Medical Imaging
This gives a broader choice for the patients’ treatment and monitoring. The key point is saving medical workers time during the pandemic. They can get notified about the health matters of the patients right away, give proper advice, and monitor diagnoses remotely. As for the patients — they will avoid another trip to the hospital or medical center and stay at home safely.
Let’s turn to some statistics. Research by Accenture predicts that by 2021 the AI health sector will reach a $6.6 billion market in the US alone. That is huge, right?
Keeping doctors safe
It is impossible to imagine the stress the medical staff is going through right now. Doctors are at risk, so AI comes to help. Before the virus outbreak, Microsoft presented HoloLens, and now it keeps healthcare workers protected when treating Covid-19 patients.
This AI-driven telemedicine technology is hands-free and allows users to place 3D models next to them. It can be used during patient examination, surgery, or follow-up — connecting medical staff in different locations using gestures, vision, and voice. It also helps train doctors in residents as well as full-time medicine students remotely.
Voice & Conversational AI: a road to remote healthcare
People use their voices all the time — the most natural thing to do. During the pandemics, conversational and voice AI technologies saw the rise. They rely on a fusion of natural language processing (NLP), natural language understanding (NLU), machine learning (ML), and speech recognition. Technologies like Alexa and Siri can soon act as a supportive healthcare team right on your device wherever you are.
Just imagine the perks when the device listens to our health complaints (or detects a cough) and responds in a doctor-like manner. First, it saves you from calling a doctor, as the data can be transferred in real-time. Second, proactive AI is much more observant of various types of coughs or sneezes because humans tend to ignore the symptoms before there is an actual problem. The conversational AI is perfect for follow-ups, asking health-related manners, and optimizing daily care.
The current state of self-isolation and remote work uncovered other treats from coronavirus — loneliness, anxiety, and depression. That is when voice AI become a real superhero. It is a source of companionship, a friend that can be involved in a human-like interaction, yet not lose the systematic qualitative approach to analyzing the way a person feels.
Fast-speed drug trial
The artificial intelligence hypes biomedicine. An Oxford-based drug-discovery, Exscientia uses machine learning to find drugs to treat COVID-19. The experts say that over the Easter holidays, AI-algorithms managed to process the amount of information that is usually worth a year of paperwork. They successfully combine AI with network medicine.
The head of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Professor Ara Darzi, states, “AI remains one of our strongest paths to achieve a perceptible solution.”
AI battles fake news on coronavirus
You may have heard unfortunate stories or seen the ads about self-treatment and lifehacks to remain protected from the virus. Great you have not believed those — even better if reported as “spam”. During this time of misinformation, machine learning and NLP is capable of not just identifying fake news but also study searched keywords related to diseases.
Such advancement is handy for the users, as the specially designed chatbots accumulate knowledge and prepare the most accurate suggestions on what to do in case symptoms are detected.
