Artificial Intelligence is the abbreviation of the term "Artificial Intelligence" and is a technology that has been researched and developed for many years, since around 1950. With the development of machine learning and deep learning, as well as the advancement of big data analysis to collect and utilize a lot of information, Artificial Intelligence has made great progress. Artificial Intelligence is expected to be introduced not only in the IT and education industries, but also in the medical field, and demonstration experiments are being conducted to analyze patient charts and collect data, as well as to interpret specific diseases and conditions of patients from test data.
In 2016, Japan achieved the identification of leukemia patients in just 10 minutes. It is believed that the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in the medical field in the future will enable diagnoses and prescriptions comparable to those of humans. If Artificial Intelligence can perform the same tasks as humans, it can help solve problems such as labor shortages and rising medical costs in the medical field.
The benefits of using Artificial Intelligence in the medical field include more efficient operations, improved diagnostic accuracy, reduced burden on doctors, prevention of medical errors, correction of regional inequalities, etc. Let's take a closer look at each of these benefits.
If AI could automatically process the medical receipt process (such as creating medical fee statements) for the many patients who visit the hospital every day, it would reduce both the required work and labor costs. As a result, it would be possible to improve the efficiency of administrative work.
Then, by collecting, classifying, and analyzing data from patient examinations, diagnosis, and treatment, diagnoses can become even more accurate, which can help doctors and technicians in their work. Artificial Intelligence excels at finding patterns in huge amounts of information and classifying and analyzing them. It takes time for humans to analyze huge amounts of information one by one, but Artificial Intelligence has the potential to make highly accurate diagnoses in a shorter period of time.
In recent years, the quality of images used for diagnosis has improved due to the high performance of medical equipment, but at the same time, the amount of images has increased, which is said to further increase the burden on doctors. In addition, although the amount of information has increased, there is a shortage of people who can make correct diagnoses based on it. In terms of supporting such doctors, AI support for image diagnosis will be effective.
If the accuracy of AI is improved and introduced into medical care, it will help prevent "medical negligence", in which serious symptoms are overlooked or appropriate analysis or treatment is not carried out. In recent years, excessive working hours for healthcare professionals have become a problem, and from 2024, restrictions on overtime and working hours for doctors on holidays will be eased. The introduction of Artificial Intelligence is expected to be effective in preventing medical errors caused by human error, by simplifying on-site work and reducing human workload.
The number of doctors varies by region and it is not uncommon for there to be a shortage of doctors in rural areas. This has led to regional disparities being seen as a problem, but with the use of Artificial Intelligence, diagnoses can be made by exchanging medical data alone, making it possible to respond even if there are no doctors in the area. If AI can automate diagnosis and support doctors, it will be possible to perform many tests and diagnoses with a small number of people, which will help correct regional inequalities.
Disadvantages and points of caution when using AI in the medical field While there are many benefits to be gained, there are also disadvantages and points to be aware of. When using AI in the medical field, it is important to have a full understanding of the disadvantages and the points you need to know.
Even if AI can achieve extremely accurate diagnoses, it is not possible to leave all the work to AI. If the work is left exclusively to AI, it may not be able to handle unknown or difficult cases, which could lead to medical errors. When using AI, it is desirable to collaborate with humans, and the final decision should be made by humans.
Responsibility becomes unclear In the medical field, if all the responsibility is placed on AI, there is a risk that responsibility will become unclear. In the current situation, the most ideal method would be for AI and humans to work together and help each other.
In order for AI to make a correct diagnosis, a large amount of case data is required. Even if AI has the ability to learn, it is meaningless unless it can accurately learn a large amount of correct data. Case data must be prepared for this purpose, but it must be handled with care, as it contains personal information. It is important to remember that not only is it difficult to prepare large amounts of case data, but also that personal information must be handled appropriately./
Examples of use of AI in the medical field AI has already begun to be used in the medical field. Here we will briefly introduce some examples of its use.
An example of the use of AI image diagnosis is the combination of AI and image recognition for early cancer detection. Early-stage stomach cancer, which has a wide variety of shapes, is considered difficult to diagnose even for experts, but AI that has undergone deep learning in image recognition technology has increased the positive prediction rate to 93.4% and the negative prediction rate to 83.6%.
AI-based online diagnostic systems are also offered as medical applications. Not only do they use AI to predict diseases and provide information about nearby hospitals based on the patient's condition, but they also provide a comprehensive package that includes online consultations with doctors and prescription delivery after diagnosis. The services they provide can also accommodate home recovery and self-isolation due to the spread of infectious diseases. Some services even digitize the results of online consultations, allowing patients to own the data, providing the convenience of viewing accurate health information while being closely linked to medical care.
After the doctor makes a diagnosis, the necessary medication is prescribed, but the prescription must be changed depending on the patient's weight and physical condition. However, it would be difficult for a doctor who sees many patients a day to answer each patient in detail. Therefore, AI-powered prescriptions can realize more detailed and appropriate prescriptions based not only on the patient's weight and physical condition, but also on blood pressure and data from the previous dose. There have also been cases reported where AI predicted the conservative effect in the prescription design of eye drops, making it possible to create an appropriate prescription. AI not only realizes the best prescription for patients, but is also useful in improving efficiency and accelerating development in pharmaceutical development.
AI will likely be used more in the medical field in the future. Currently, research and development is underway to implement systems that can determine the probability of cancer from factors contained in a small amount of blood, systems that automatically design dentures for patients, and color evaluation systems for reproducing tooth tones. It is said that in the future, Artificial Intelligence that assists doctors and nurses during surgical procedures will also become widespread.
If the speed and efficiency of communication are improved, it will be possible to remotely A treatment in which Artificial Intelligence operates robots. Currently, Artificial Intelligence is evolving dramatically in combination with existing technologies such as 5G (5th generation mobile communication system) and 3D printers. The use of Artificial Intelligence in medicine not only compensates for labor shortages and prevents human errors, but is also expected to have great future potential, such as the use prospects mentioned above and helping patients recover at home.
It is expected that the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the medical field will continue to increase in the future. Currently, it is used for early detection of tumors and future disease risks, but there is still a high risk of providing alternative medical treatment instead of doctors when the accuracy of AI is not high, and security measures must be taken into account when handling large amounts of patient information and sensitive medical data. It is necessary to consider how to utilize it after fully understanding the advantages and disadvantages in advance.