Artificial intelligence (AI)'s greatest contribution to humanity may be in healthcare, with China leading the way, according to a June 24 article in a Hong Kong media outlet titled "Artificial Intelligence's Biggest Contribution May Be in Healthcare, China Leading the Way". According to Frost & Sullivan, a U.S. consulting firm, AI could improve medical outcomes by 30 to 40 percent and reduce healthcare costs by as much as 50 percent.
This is particularly important for mainland China, the article argues. Medical services are scarce in rural areas of the mainland, while in urban areas, healthcare resources are stretched thin due to the huge total number of patients. China's aging population further puts pressure on the healthcare system.
However, the article notes that China has developed a smart healthcare strategy, which is an important part of its overall AI strategic plan announced in July 2017.
The article mentions that this plan calls for the all-encompassing development of AI-related healthcare technologies, such as smart diagnostics, wearables, smart health monitoring, robot-assisted surgeries, smart medical image recognition, and medical genomics with a focus on care for the elderly.
The article also noted that last year the Food and Drug Administration approved AI diagnostic devices to be added to the list of medical devices. In May this year, the mainland set up the Intelligent Healthcare Professional Committee as a research platform for exchanges and cooperation in medical AI.
The article points out that the medical industry is well suited for the use of AI. Doctors rely heavily on their senses to gather information about a patient's health, such as vision and hearing. Artificial neural network tools such as deep learning are well suited for this type of work.
Mainland Chinese startups are most enthusiastic about, according to the article, including the use of AI deep learning to process medical images, such as CTs and X-rays. Radiology departments at top mainland hospitals typically process tens of thousands of scans a day. AI deep learning has been used to analyze and label affected areas. Alibaba's medical division uses AI to interpret CT films, and Tencent Foraging uses AI to spot early signs of cancer.
The article added that mainland researchers also use AI to gain knowledge of routine medical care. For example, an AI system created by Tech Data and Tsinghua University not only successfully passed last year's Chinese National Physician Qualification Exam, but scored more than 96 percent of test takers. The exam tests not only breadth of knowledge, but also the ability to understand complex relationships between phenomena and use them to make decisions.
Consumers can now check their own health as wearable medical devices that track activity and heart rate become cheaper. The increasing use of wearables means that a wealth of daily health data is available online. Big data and artificial intelligence predictive analysts can consistently detect and alert users to more significant medical conditions before they emerge.
The article argues that the increased use of AI, coupled with the availability of medical and metrological biology data, will allow the mainland to provide high-quality, personalized healthcare to more people at a lower cost, making people healthier through continuous observation and alerts.
Source: reference.com.cn