The field of artificial intelligence (AI) in any industry is exciting. However, we are just hitting the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding how the world can change with AI in medicine. AI defines the cutting edge of science today, but it’s very easy to put the cart before the horse here. At the same time, it’s difficult to avoid the temptation to do just that.
Events such as the Bentham Open get us a little closer to finding that balance, but even so, scientists are all in search of the same answers to the story of the human body. We all want to melt that iceberg. A closer look at the highs and lows of AI in medicine reveals that sometimes we’re still just as human as we were made despite this exciting and rapidly expanding field.
Advantages of AI in Medicine
The highs of AI in medicine are obvious. It can change and save lives. Diagnoses will come faster, and more accurately, and decision-making becomes less cumbersome for both doctors and patients. Here are some key advantages of AI in medicine we as a world have already explored, and continue to explore:
- Improving diagnostics
- Eliminating medical error
- Real-time insights on patient behavior
- Real-time responses and reporting on cures and treatments
The list of highs of AI is endless, particularly in the field of medicine. That’s what makes it so exciting.
A Real-Life Example: Melanoma
Melanoma is considered to be a deadly cancer that is responsible for over 70 percent of skin cancer deaths across the world. Visual inspection is currently the initial diagnostic tool, but AI is helping speed up that process by identifying suspicious pigmented lesions (SPL’s). Early-stage identification of this disease might be able to stop it in its tracks, because of AI.
The challenge with this disease is that very often there are so many lesions, it’s difficult if not impossible to identify them all with the same patient. This represents the highs and lows of AI. We can use it to change lives, but in some cases, we may not be able to use it fast enough. With time, AI might be the key. Events like the Bentham Science Open and others can help to give you real-time data on what scientists are doing about this today.
