The artificial intelligence in medicine is a reality. It is a technology with the potential to revolutionize the health sector and open a whole world of new possibilities to doctors, researchers or pharmacists. Advances in information analysis, diagnosis or treatment of diseases are evident and are already helping to save lives.
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How Is Artificial intelligence Saving Lifes In The Medical Field?
The artificial intelligence is the technology that allows machines to analyze data and evaluate the context for developing tasks similar to those carried out by a human being. An intelligent machine uses techniques such as machine learning or deep learning to incorporate new knowledge and process is based on algorithms.
The use of AI is increasingly widespread in numerous fields, but there is one that stands out above the rest for the great possibilities it offers: medicine.
And is that artificial intelligence in medicine is changing the paradigm of the sector from many perspectives. One of them is the processing of medical data. The use of intelligent systems allows the processing of large amounts of medical information that would otherwise be impossible to combine.
Thanks to this ability to obtain information, artificial intelligence already offers many advantages when making medical diagnoses. The help of technology is increasingly essential to detect pathologies much earlier and with a minimum margin of error.
On the other hand, the commitment to artificial intelligence in medicine also implies changes in the treatment of patients. The use of innovative tools makes it possible to automate treatments or apply them remotely, functioning as an important support for healthcare personnel.
The application of artificial intelligence in the medical sector also forces hospitals and health centres to adapt to new administrative processes. For example, thanks to this technology it will be possible to automate the search and verification of files.
It should not be forgotten that the unstoppable penetration of artificial intelligence in the health sector will also force hospitals and doctors to use new tools, methods, techniques and systems. For example, in the way tests are carried out, or when distributing resources.
The development of artificial intelligence in medicine also requires the creation of new regulations, especially related to privacy and data protection. But also on other questions that still have no answer. Who is responsible for medical malpractice committed by an AI?
The challenges that artificial intelligence faces in medicine are still much more earthly than what we are used to seeing in typical science fiction movies. There may be intelligent robots in the future capable of performing any operation, but for now, the human factor is still essential.
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Artificial Intelligence and Medical Translation Services
The human factor also comes into play in relation to providing medical services in other languages. Artificial intelligence has changed the translation industry considerably in recent years, with machine learning and neural networks making computerized language translation much more accurate than previous statistical-based machine translation could ever hope to be.
However, despite the progress that has been made, artificial intelligence cannot yet rival the nuance and critical thinking that human translators are able to apply to their work. Medical translation services must, by their very nature, be entirely accurate in the way that they use language. As such, while machine translation has come on leaps and bounds, it is not yet advisable to trust complex medical texts to it.
Medical Field Is Advancing Thanks To Artificial Intelligence
The advances that artificial intelligence allows in health are many and very varied, although in many cases they are still linked to experiments and projects by specialized companies. In other words, in most cases, they are not yet routinely applied in hospitals or health centres.
Technological advances derived from artificial intelligence can be developed in numerous fields. One of them is pharmacology. The development of more effective drugs in much less time is already possible. This is the case of AI that discovered two drugs to treat Ebola in just a few days when it would have taken humans, months, even years.
The ability of artificial intelligence to analyze and interpret images can also be of great help in radiology. In addition, thanks to machine learning they can improve more and more based on the image studies previously carried out.
One of the main applications of artificial intelligence in medicine is in oncology, that is, the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. There are numerous tools to this end, it has even been shown that an AI can detect glaucoma with a simple retinal scan. Smart machines have also shown great efficacy in detecting breast or prostate cancer through biopsy analysis, reaching a hit rate of 90%
The United States is one of the pioneer countries in the use of artificial intelligence in neurology. Thanks to this technology it is possible to know more precisely an organ as complex as the brain. This allows us to better understand how neural connections work and to advance in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with strokes or brain damage, and diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s or senile dementia.
Other projects are focused on offering solutions related to pregnancy. There is an example of this kind Project, a tool that performs an intelligent analysis of the images obtained from the fetus, which allows detecting malformations or other problems during pregnancy.
Examples of medical advancements in the field of cardiology can also be found. For example, at the University of Nottingham, they managed to create an algorithm that detects cardiovascular problems with more delay and precision than traditional methods.
Another field where artificial intelligence applied to medicine will have more applications in the future will be genetics. In this sense, the American company FDNA has launched a facial recognition system integrated into a database that contains more than 8,000 genetic disorders and rare diseases. It also has an application called Face2Gene that allows the exchange of this tool’s data between medical centres in 130 countries.
Finally, in the field of surgery, there are more and more surgical teams that allow automated operations. However, it is still difficult to leave all responsibility for an operation to artificial intelligence.
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Applications Of Artificial Intelligence In Healthcare
We have already seen that artificial intelligence in medicine presents advances in numerous disciplines. Among its most obvious applications is the most effective diagnosis of pathologies from the analysis of an enormous amount of clinical information.
In line with the previous point, artificial intelligence in medicine allows for more specific treatments, based on effective diagnoses. In addition, in the future, the use of robotic machines or caregivers will be a reality, in the same way, that robotic pets are already in the homes of the elderly.
Artificial intelligence can be applied in almost any field of medicine. Its current mission is to function as a tool to support healthcare personnel and to alleviate the workload of doctors.
Another of the main uses of artificial intelligence in healthcare is also found in the administrative area. Professionals in the health sector also have to face mechanical tasks such as medical consultations on patients. This type of task can be done automatically and effectively using AI.
As we have already mentioned, another of its applications is in the pharmaceutical sector, where it is and will be a great help in finding new drugs and more effective drugs for the treatment of diseases.
Advantages & Disadvantages Of Artificial Intelligence In The Medical Sector
Advantages Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine :
- Process huge amounts of clinical information in a short time.
- Get better diagnoses.
- New and more effective ways of treating patients.
- Identify hidden patterns in data to offer better diagnostics.
- Save time searching for information or other mechanical tasks.
- Offer support and support to human professionals.
- To help in developing countries or where there are not too many specialists in certain health disciplines.
Disadvantages Of Artificial Intelligence In Medicine :
- Lack of regulations regarding the use of AI in medicine
- A great deal of information is obtained, but remember that patient data is confidential.
- Ethical and moral dilemmas. Can a person be informed that they will suffer a severe cognitive decline in the future, or is it information that could traumatize the patient?
- Irresponsible use of medical data. In the absence of express regulation, the information obtained by artificial intelligence could be marketed.
- Scary sale. For example, a company collects clinical data from patients and uses it to send them alarmist information about their health, while offering miraculous treatments.
- Lack of medical preparation. Most healthcare personnel still have to adapt to the use of these technologies.
- Updating of medical devices and instruments. Not all hospitals, health centres or outpatients have the budget to have these tools.
Therefore, the applications of artificial intelligence in medicine still face prospects and problems to be solved.
