7 Applications of AI in Healthcare That Could Change The Industry

Today, the use of artificial intelligence technology is delivering impressive results in various fields. Medicine and healthcare are no exception. AI has revolutionized healthcare by streamlining staff workflows and improving patient care. According to an Accenture report, AI tools in healthcare can generate $150 billion in annual savings in the United States by 2026. 

AI enables early detection of disease with remarkable accuracy. Just look at the examples. Google’s DeepMind can predict kidney injury 48 hours in advance with 90% accuracy. IBM’s Watson can analyze patient records and suggest personalized treatment plans. Isn’t that amazing? But that’s not the limit. 

Artificial intelligence is a game changer for almost every medical institution. In this article, we will talk about how AI can be used in healthcare. So let’s get started.

Robot-Assisted Surgery

Even when conducting high-precision operations, we can talk about the human factor, which is sometimes the cause of errors. The use of AI robotics reduces this indicator. Works are accurate and fast. They do not get tired and burnt out. The utilization of robots as assistants during operations provides significant advantages.

• Lowering the risk of human error.
• Minimizing procedures invasiveness.
• Demonstrating 3D views of the surgical area.
• Resolving issues like hand tremors and fatigue.
• Ensuring consistent performance throughout the surgery.
• Collecting and analyzing data during surgery.
• Providing real-time feedback.
• Reducing the risk of complications, making surgeries safer for patients.

We have to admit that robots can assist in complicated procedures that are challenging for human surgeons. Ultimately, the benefits of AI robot-assisted surgery translate to enhanced patient outcomes, reduced recovery times, and improved quality of care.

Virtual Health Assistant

A virtual assistant, created with AI usage, is an adaptable tool that can be applied across different domains. A VA provides prompt and personalized responses in customer service, improving user experiences.

An AI virtual assistant can help with appointment scheduling and medication reminders. Moreover, it gives basic medical information. What is the practical benefit of this? Patients promptly receive answers to their questions. Attendance at hospitals and polyclinics is decreasing. The work of the medical staff is being optimized.

In education, the VAs offer support for personalized learning, helping students with assignments and answering queries. Businesses employ AI virtual assistants for data analysis, streamlining tasks, and enhancing decision-making. 

Medical Error Reduction

We all know the consequences of mistakes made by healthcare workers. It is not only about harming the health of patients. Healthcare institutions should be concerned about data privacy, financial information protection, and fraud prevention when reimbursing medical services.

AI-driven systems, unlike humans, can meticulously analyze vast amounts of data, helping healthcare providers make more accurate diagnoses and treatment decisions. In medication management, AI minimizes prescription errors, ensuring patient safety. Furthermore, AI can detect anomalies in billing and claims, identify fraudulent activities, and reduce financial losses for healthcare providers and insurers. 

Collecting Data and Health Monitoring

AI-powered wearable devices can continuously collect and monitor patient data, including heart rate, blood pressure, and sleep patterns. This real-time data helps individuals and healthcare professionals track health trends and detect anomalies. What artificial intelligence is capable of if you use the technology to collect data and monitor?

• Analyze large datasets to identify patterns and risk factors.
• Predict health outcomes by considering various aspects.
• Facilitate remote monitoring of patients.
• Enable quick access to patient records.
• Assist in developing personalized treatment plans.

In addition, AI can monitor and analyze public health data to identify potential disease outbreaks and track the spread of infectious diseases, enabling timely responses and interventions.

Better Diagnosis and Decision Making

Speaking about this option of using artificial intelligence, we suggest considering several examples. AI-powered algorithms can analyze medical images such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans to detect anomalies and provide accurate diagnoses. Applications can assess genetic data and lifestyle factors to predict the risk of diabetes or heart disease, allowing for preventive measures. AI can assist in surgical planning by creating 3D models of patients’ anatomy guiding surgeons with precision during complex procedures.

PathAI employs AI to enhance pathology services. It assists pathologists in detecting diseases like cancer by analyzing histopathology slides, reducing diagnostic errors, and speeding up the process. Zebra Medical Vision focuses on radiology, using AI to analyze medical imaging for early detection of diseases. Their algorithms help identify conditions like breast cancer, liver disease, and osteoporosis from X-rays and CT scans.

Management of Medical Records & Data

AI systems streamline the digitization of patient records, making data retrieval and management more efficient. They offer features like voice recognition for data entry, predictive text analysis, and automated coding of medical procedures. 

Using artificial intelligence technology, you can analyze medical data to identify patterns, trends, and anomalies, facilitate seamless data exchange between different EHR systems, healthcare institutions, and providers, ensure continuity of care, and enhance data security by monitoring and detecting unauthorized access, breaches, etc. 

Automated Analysis of Medical Imaging

Even experienced doctors sometimes spend much time and effort deciphering medical images. Incredibly often, difficulties arise if the image data is of low quality. And what to do with blurry photos and scans? Again, we recommend using artificial intelligence.

Features of the AI tools:

• image interpretation;
• quality enhancing;
• identifying subtle or early signs of diseases;
• providing precise quantification of measurements;
• pattern recognition;
• automating repetitive image analysis tasks;

AI can extract a wealth of data from medical images, enabling radiomics analysis for predictive modeling, risk assessment, and disease progression tracking. For instance, InferVision’s AI solutions assist radiologists in interpreting medical images, with applications in lung cancer screening, stroke diagnosis, and liver disease detection.

Takeaways

Implementing artificial intelligence systems in healthcare and medicine comes at a price. We agree on this fact. But let us assure you that this investment is highly effective. 

If you make this decision today, you will be several steps ahead of your competitors tomorrow. Think about the increased productivity of your staff, the enhanced accuracy of your procedures, the superior customer service, and other benefits you will gain from implementing AI.

Let our experience help you realize the potential of AI solutions for healthcare. We are ready to be your trusted technology partner with proven technology expertise. Let’s talk!

Yuriy Nayda CTO, Managing Partner at SmartTek Solutions