Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize Healthcare on a global scale, according to Karen DeSalvo, Google’s chief health officer. She believes that AI could have a transformative impact on healthcare in developing countries, similar to the discovery of penicillin. AI has already shown promise in improving care in developed countries, with the ability to improve diagnoses, personalize treatments, and reduce administrative inefficiencies.

DeSalvo’s optimism is based on her experience as a primary-care physician and her work in public health. She highlighted initiatives by Google Health to address healthcare access in low-income countries, such as using AI to monitor search queries for individuals at risk of self-harm and providing immediate support through pop-up boxes.

One area where AI could make a significant difference is in reducing maternal mortality. In many developing countries, pregnant individuals do not have access to prenatal ultrasounds due to the lack of trained providers and poor transportation infrastructure. Google Health, in partnership with Northwestern School of Medicine, is piloting a low-cost, battery-operated handheld ultrasound device that community health workers can use with minimal training. The device’s images are uploaded onto a smartphone, where AI algorithms interpret them to estimate gestational age and assess fetal position. This enables earlier and more frequent screenings, allowing patients to be referred to higher-level care before major problems arise.

AI also has applications in diagnosing tuberculosis (TB), a highly infectious respiratory disease. In areas lacking medical professionals who can interpret chest X-rays, AI can help expand access. Research has shown that AI models can accurately identify signs of TB on chest X-rays, sometimes even exceeding the World Health Organization’s performance standards.

DeSalvo emphasized the need for healthcare providers to actively identify access gaps and work with companies to find innovative solutions. She also stressed the importance of incorporating AI into medical, nursing, and public health education to ensure that future practitioners are trained to utilize this powerful tool.

AI won’t replace doctors, but doctors who leverage AI will replace those who don’t, DeSalvo said. Just as antibiotics revolutionized healthcare in the past century, AI has the potential to do the same in this one.

Sources:
– Original article: [Source]
– “AI won’t replace doctors, but doctors who use AI will replace doctors who don’t” – Karen DeSalvo.

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