The rise of technologies such as ChatGPT has thrust artificial intelligence into the spotlight throughout 2023 SA国际影视传媒� and health care is no exception.

SA国际影视传媒淲ith the increasing availability of health-care data and the rapid progress in analytic techniques SA国际影视传媒� whether machine learning, logic-based or statistical SA国际影视传媒� AI tools could transform the health sector,SA国际影视传媒� the World Health Organization said when it launched a set of regulatory recommendations in October.

As we move into 2024, here are some key AI developments SA国际影视传媒� and cautions SA国际影视传媒� that will be top of mind for Canadian experts in the new year and beyond.

Personalized patient care

One of the most exciting potential developments in health-care AI is harnessing the ability of a computer model to process and interpret SA国际影视传媒渕ulti-modalSA国际影视传媒� data about a patient, said Roxana Sultan, chief data officer and vice-president of health at the Toronto-based Vector Institute dedicated to AI research.

Right now, AI models can make a diagnosis based on one or two pieces of information, such as an X-ray, Sultan said. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 achieved by training the model on SA国际影视传媒渢ons and tons of X-ray imagesSA国际影视传媒� so it learns to recognize certain diagnoses.

SA国际影视传媒淭hat is fantastic. But that is (only) one source of information,SA国际影视传媒� Sultan said.

In the SA国际影视传媒渘ear future,SA国际影视传媒� she said, machine learning will develop so that AI can take a SA国际影视传媒渕uch more comprehensive look at patient health.SA国际影视传媒�

In addition to a patientSA国际影视传媒檚 X-ray, for example, AI would be able to process other data, including doctorSA国际影视传媒檚 notes, lab samples, medications the patient is taking and genetic information.

That ability will not only play a critical role in diagnosing a patient, but also in coming up with a more personalized treatment plan, Sultan said.

SA国际影视传媒淲hen you have models that understand the complex interplay between a personSA国际影视传媒檚 genetics and a personSA国际影视传媒檚 medications and all the different diagnostic tests that you run on that patient, you pull those together into a picture that allows you to not only understand whatSA国际影视传媒檚 happening in the moment, but also to kind of plan ahead that, if I applied this treatment SA国际影视传媒� what is the more likely outcome for this particular person?SA国际影视传媒�

Russ Greiner, who holds a fellowship with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, agreed.

SA国际影视传媒淭he standard medical practice used to be one size fits all,SA国际影视传媒� said Greiner, who is also a professor of computing science at the University of Alberta.

SA国际影视传媒淣ow you realize that thereSA国际影视传媒檚 huge differences amongst individuals SA国际影视传媒� different genes, different metabolites, different lifestyle factors, all of which are influential (on health),SA国际影视传媒� he said.

Machine learning means computers can analyze hundreds or thousands of characteristics about a patient SA国际影视传媒� more than a human clinician could possibly process SA国际影视传媒� and find patterns SA国际影视传媒渢hat allow us to figure out that for this characteristic of patients, you get treatment A, not treatment B,SA国际影视传媒� Greiner said.

Clinical trials

AISA国际影视传媒檚 ability to go through enormous amounts of data will also save SA国际影视传媒渢ens of thousands SA国际影视传媒� probably hundreds of thousands SA国际影视传媒� of human hoursSA国际影视传媒� for researchers analyzing the results of clinical trials, said Sue Paish, CEO of DIGITAL, one of five SA国际影视传媒済lobal innovation clustersSA国际影视传媒� across the country funded by the federal government.

SA国际影视传媒淎I basically can evaluate billions of pieces of data in a fraction of a second,SA国际影视传媒� said Paish, who is based in Vancouver.

That means that new medications could be evaluated for safety and efficacy much faster, she said.

Improving quality of data

Whether AI is being used for clinical care or for health research, the results it generates can only be as good as the data itSA国际影视传媒檚 fed, experts agree.

SA国际影视传媒淕arbage in, garbage out,SA国际影视传媒� said Greiner.

SA国际影视传媒淚f I train on faulty data, the best I can do is to build a model as good as that data, which is problematic.SA国际影视传媒�

One of the priority areas is to make sure AI is getting data from reliable sources, rather than just indiscriminately taking publicly available information, said Sultan.

ChatGPT, for example, is a technology to SA国际影视传媒渆ssentially scrape the internet,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

SA国际影视传媒淭he problem with that SA国际影视传媒� is first and foremost, itSA国际影视传媒檚 not always reliable and true,SA国际影视传媒� Sultan said.

SA国际影视传媒淎nd second of all, it is riddled with biases and problematic perspectives that get reinforced when you train something that canSA国际影视传媒檛 make those judgments. It just reads it all, absorbs it and spits it back out for you.SA国际影视传媒�

One example of a way to improve the quality of medical analyses AI generates is to train it on medical textbooks rather than the internet, Sultan said.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think the ChatGPTs of the world will seem very caveman, like very rudimentary (in the future),SA国际影视传媒� she said.

Researchers are also developing AI algorithms to find bias in health information, including racial or gender discrimination, Sultan said.

Patient self-management

Another key area where AI will grow is in developing technologies that help patients manage their own health, experts agree.

For example, wearable AI has already been developed to help patients with heart failure self-monitor, Sultan said.

AI has also been used SA国际影视传媒渜uite effectivelySA国际影视传媒� in remote areas of Canada to manage some patientsSA国际影视传媒� wounds when they werenSA国际影视传媒檛 able to access care during the pandemic, said Paish.

The AI technology attaches to a patientSA国际影视传媒檚 cellphone, takes a 3D image of a wound and assesses whether itSA国际影视传媒檚 infected or healing well.

That information is then sent to a doctor or nurse, who can advise the patient remotely on how to care for the wound.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think weSA国际影视传媒檙e going to see more and more examples of where AI is actually supporting patient health by reducing the need for a human being to take all the steps in assessment and delivery of health-care services,SA国际影视传媒� Paish said.

That will take pressure off overburdened doctors, nurses and hospitals and allow them to provide in-person care when itSA国际影视传媒檚 most needed, she said.

Ethics and regulation

SA国际影视传媒淥ne of the big flashing yellow lights in the application of AI is making sure that there is very thorough and thoughtful evaluations of how AI is being trained,SA国际影视传媒� said Paish.

SA国际影视传媒淧ublic policy is going to be extremely important.SA国际影视传媒�

Dr. Theresa Tam, CanadaSA国际影视传媒檚 chief public health officer, said itSA国际影视传媒檚 critical to develop regulations and safeguards that address ethical issues such as patient privacy.

SA国际影视传媒淚 think this is a really opportune time to, you know, more systematically look at SA国际影视传媒� what governance we have to put in place in order to responsibly use AI,SA国际影视传媒� Tam said in a recent interview.

Ensuring data is managed in a way that protects privacy must be SA国际影视传媒渋nterwovenSA国际影视传媒� with AI development, Sultan said, noting that other legal and ethical ramifications are SA国际影视传媒渦ncharted territory.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淲eSA国际影视传媒檙e all trying to figure out what makes the most sense. So issues like consent, issues like data ownership and data custodianship, those are all going to shift in terms of the paradigm that weSA国际影视传媒檝e looked at them through in the past,SA国际影视传媒� she said.

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SA国际影视传媒擝y Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press