Healthcare AI newswatch: Apple’s AI Doctor, AI’s expectant medical specialties, AI-watching teens, more
Buzzworthy developments of the past few days.
- Apple’s AI Doctor had better be one good virtual physician. After all, the expectations company has been setting lofty expectations for its forthcoming “biggest push into health yet.” The quote is from a Bloomberg headline. The story, by Apple watcher Mark Gurman, reminds tech newshounds that Apple CEO Tim Cook has pledged to make health the company’s signature contribution to society. That de facto promise, in the context of the AI Doctor news leak, is “even bolder when you consider that the Apple Watch has yet to live up to the dream of becoming a ‘medical lab on your wrist’ and the company’s Health app is still fairly rudimentary,” Gurman points out. The new initiative, called Project Mulberry, is being helmed by Apple health VP Sumbul Ahmad Desai, MD, who seems to be giving it most if not all of her time and attention. “Desai is looking to avoid prior flops suffered by the [Apple health] division,” Gurman writes, “such as a failed app for pairing users with doctors to answer simple medical questions.” The Bloomberg item is behind a paywall, but it’s spurred plenty of follow-on coverage.
- Orthopedics will be the medical specialty that benefits the most from the use of AI. The subject matter expert who makes the confident prediction may be a little biased, but he makes a solid case. He’s Shakeel Ahmed, MD, the CEO of one of the largest ambulatory surgical centers and ancillary services networks in the Midwest. “Orthopedic surgery is no longer solely about hardware,” Ahmed writes in Orthoworld. “It involves analytics, complicated algorithms and the pursuit of razor-sharp accuracy for patient success. AI is helping orthopedic surgeons perform surgeries that are safer, more efficient and, most importantly, more personalized.” He makes six specific predictions for outpatient orthopedic AI.
- Cardiovascular care might have something to say about that. The specialty is expecting big things from AI all its own. One such thing: bringing nuance to risk factors for heart diseases. Take diabetes, for example, suggests cardiologist Jaime Murillo, MD, chief medical officer for Medical Affairs at UnitedHealth Group. Today’s conventional care takes a “very binary” approach to diabetes diagnostics—you either have it or you don’t. But diabetes tends to occur along a spectrum, which AI “has an opportunity to define through patterns,” Murillo tells the American Journal of Managed Care. “If today we say, if you have a hemoglobin A1C of, let’s say, 6.3, you’re not diabetic. If it's 6.5, you’re diabetic,” he explains. “The reality is that 6.3 may actually have a higher [cardiovascular] risk than the 6.5 because of a host of other conditions that we’re still not familiar with.”
- Then too, AI is just one of several emerging technologies in which healthcare professionals should become at least moderately conversant. And that’s regardless of specialty. Other keys to keeping abreast of healthcare’s broad digital transformation include EHR management, telemedicine, remote patient monitoring and mobile health apps. “The rise of digital health platforms and AI-driven diagnostics has paved the way for technology-focused healthcare careers,” Dr. Sandip Patel, founder of Docthub, tells The Economic Times (of India). “Professionals who embrace these advancements will be better positioned for the future.”
- If it’s any consolation, lawyers are hearing the same thing about their profession. Take it from Business Insider writer Melia Russell, who attended the annual Legalweek conference last week. “The potential of artificial intelligence to reshape the legal profession emerged as a key theme,” Russell reports. “Speakers issued stern warnings that a failure to adopt new tech would leave lawyers in the dust.”
- Even high-schoolers are preparing for shakeups brought by healthcare AI. “As teenagers living through these great technological advancements, it is essential to understand that these changes are not just affecting the present but also our future,” writes one young person, Luna Xavier, at The Teen Magazine. “Whether you are looking for a job in AI or healthcare or just trying to gain a greater understanding of the world around you, it is important to be conscious of the impact AI has not only in healthcare but in all our lives.”
- When humans become unneeded ‘for most things,’ we’ll have AI to thank for nothing. And if that scenario never materializes, we’ll have Bill Gates to blame for scaring us with such a prediction. “There’ll be some things that we reserve for ourselves,” like sports, he told Jimmy Fallon recently, “but in terms of making things and moving things, and growing food, over time, those will be basically solved problems.” As in solved by AI. People magazine has more.
- Recent research in the news:
- Florida Atlantic University: AI ‘speaks’ genetic dialect to predict future SARS-CoV-2 mutations
- Weill Cornell: New AI model personalizes bladder cancer treatment
- Dartmouth: First therapy chatbot trial yields mental health benefits
- University of Rochester: My robot therapist: The ethics of AI mental health chatbots for kids
- Technical University of Denmark: New AI models enhance protein data analysis for medical research
- Anteneo de Manila University: AI dental assistant reads X-rays with near-perfect accuracy
- Florida Atlantic University: AI ‘speaks’ genetic dialect to predict future SARS-CoV-2 mutations
- Notable FDA approval news:
- Mergers & acquisitions:
- Funding news of note:
- From AIin.Healthcare’s news partners:
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.