How AI Is Transforming Healthcare

It was during the COVID-19 lockdown, that Courtney’s four-yearold son Alex began experiencing excruciating pain and eventually stunted growth

- PAROMITA GUPTA

What began was a battle of three years and 17 doctors to figure out what was truly going on with the boy. With no clarity on her boy’s condition, Courtney turned to one unlikely option for her answers- ChatGPT. “I went line by line of everything that was in his MRI notes and plugged it into ChatGPT,” shared the mother. In response, the AI suggested that Alex might be suffering from a rare neurological condition called tethered cord syndrome. The boy has undergone surgery to fix his spine and is now recovering. Yes, the generative conversational AI tool is no doctor, but this shows that artificial intelligence in healthcare can go a long way in helping people in distress. Back in October 2022, the World Economic Forum reported that India’s AI expenditure is expected to reach USD 11.78 billion by 2025 and will push around USD 1 trillion to the Indian economy by 2035. AI has been prevalent in several industries and healthcare is the latest addition to the list. With a population of 1.4 million, India has just 64 doctors per 100,000 against the world average of 150 doctors per 100,000 people. AI is going to facilitate the healthcare process by lending a helping hand to medical professionals.

ROLE OF AI IN HEALTHCARE: While the opportunities are endless, AI in the healthcare sector is largely being utilized in mining medical records, designing health treatment plans, predicting early detection of various life-threatening diseases, cancer and diabetes screening, AI-based tools for eyes and other related treatments, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Diagnosis and management.