By Steve Spencer
It’s no secret that Artificial Intelligence capabilities are growing exponentially. In fact, a study by Model Evaluation and Threat Research, a nonprofit focused on AI, found that the length of tasks autonomous agents can complete has been doubling every seven months. This suggests that within five years, AI could automate many software tasks that currently take humans a full month.
And at the UAB Marnix E. Heersink Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Rubin Pillay, MD, PhD and his team are charging ahead, exploring the AI frontier.
“Most of the work on AI is in the context of research and development,” Pillay said. “We’re building and testing a number of different solutions in a variety of disciplines. For example, we’re working on a system that will help radiologists improve their productivity. We may reach a point when AI could study an image first, and then flag the scans that the radiologist should inspect.”
The Biomedical Innovation team has been testing this, and so far the AI system has been able to find the diagnosis better or on par with radiologists. The true test comes if it’s deployed with real patients, which could be tried in a few years.
“We’re starting to see a lot of clinical trials with supervised AI deployment,” Pillay said. “We’re currently doing one for cancer diagnosis to see if AI can help medical clinicians function at the level of a top oncologist. Let’s say a person lives in a small town without access to an oncologist, and they see a primary care provider or a nurse practitioner. The provider uploads the patient's medical records into the AI solution, and it provides the most likely diagnosis, along with a treatment protocol. In addition to helping the local practitioner provide care, if they send the patient to UAB, they’re sending someone who should be there, which also makes UAB more efficient.”
Pillay and his colleagues are also working on what could be called a virtual hospital. Genie RX is a portal that is available anywhere in the world. It includes all the important specialties and is open to both healthcare providers and patients.
A provider can use it by uploading a patient’s medical records. The AI system analyzes this information and issues a report that includes what the clinical picture suggests; recommended protocol; probable diagnosis; follow up questions to gather more information. It adapts the treatment to where you are in the world.
A patient can also sign up, enter their medical information, and receive a comprehensive report. The system can also help the patient schedule an appointment, and even book a ride, whether they’re in India or Italy, and all points in between.
Pillay and his colleagues are applying for a $3,000,00 grant from the Gates Foundation to pilot this in four countries. They have local partners who will deploy it. If the grant is funded, they should know within a year whether or not it works.
Pillay has also created a wellness platform called PolyOme WellCare. “You log into the site,” he said. “And after you give permission, the AI extracts your medical records, imaging, the data points from any devices you wear. Then based on your ZIP code, we get your environmental data.
“With this information, the AI creates scores for you. It’s like a FICO score for you for health. The maximum score is 100. If you improve your health, exercising and eating well, your score will go up. And it tells you what contributes to your score, your genetics, your lifestyle etc. It gives you a report that tells you what you need to do to improve your health. You can also ask the AI about improving your score.”
With all the work the Institute for Biomedical Innovation, Pillay believes that we are just scratching the surface in what AI can do. “AI will be a transformative force in every aspect of care from the perspective of the patient, the provider, and even the payer,” he said. “It is critical that every single person in healthcare invest time in developing their own AI literacy.