How AI could change the future of our health care

Summary

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing emergency room operations, as seen at Humber River Hospital in Toronto, where AI predicts patient influx two days ahead, optimizing staffing and room cleaning. This tech-driven approach, analyzing patterns from real-time data, expedites patient flow, allowing the hospital to treat an additional 29 patients daily. Experts like Yoshua Bengio, a deep learning pioneer, foresee AI transforming healthcare, particularly in departments like pathology and radiology. However, concerns about data-driven surveillance and potential biases in AI algorithms call for stringent regulation and accountability to ensure equitable healthcare delivery.

Takeaways

• 🚑 The goal in emergency rooms is to see and treat patients as quickly as possible.
• 🤖 Artificial intelligence is being used in hospitals to speed up patient processing.
• 🏥 Humber River Hospital in Toronto is using AI to predict patient arrivals with high accuracy.
• 📊 The AI software processes real-time data and historical data to find patterns and bottlenecks.
• 🛠 It helps in optimizing resources like cleaning staff and room availability based on predictions.
• 💰 By identifying and shortening wait times, hospitals can save money and improve efficiency.
• 📈 As a result, hospitals can see an average increase of 29 more patients per day.
• 🧠 Deep learning, an advanced form of AI, allows computers to learn and make assumptions from data.
• 🔍 Pathology, dermatology, and radiology departments are expected to be the first to experience significant AI impacts.
• 👨‍⚕️ Machines can be trained to perform tasks traditionally done by doctors or technicians, potentially with higher accuracy.
• 🕵️‍♂️ There are concerns about the need for vast amounts of personal data to train AI systems, raising surveillance and privacy issues.
• 🏛 Bioethicists argue for heavy regulation of AI in healthcare, especially concerning data and profit-driven companies.
• 🔧 AI developers should be accountable for explaining their systems' designs to ensure fairness and awareness of potential biases.
• 🌟 AI holds great potential for improving medical care, but maintaining trust and human interaction is crucial.
• 🌐 Finding the right balance between technology and traditional healthcare practices will be a significant challenge.

Q & A

What is the primary goal for patients arriving in the emergency room?

The primary goal is to be seen and treated as quickly as possible.

How is artificial intelligence being used to speed up processes in some hospitals?

Artificial intelligence is used to predict the number of patients arriving in the emergency department two days in advance, allowing for better staffing and room preparation.

Which hospital is mentioned in the script as an example of using AI for emergency department predictions?

Humber River Hospital in Toronto.

What type of data does the software process to make its predictions?

The software processes real-time data on admissions, wait times, transfers, and discharges, analyzing patterns and bottlenecks from the past year.

How does the AI system help in reducing patient wait times?

By identifying and shortening the time it takes for a doctor to see a patient, for bed cleaning, and for room transfers.

What is the potential impact of AI on healthcare in the next few decades according to the script?

The potential impact is described as almost revolutionary, with significant changes expected in healthcare.

Who is Yoshua Bengio mentioned in the script and what is his contribution?

Yoshua Bengio is one of the pioneers of deep learning, an advanced form of AI that allows computer programs to make assumptions and learn as they go.

Which medical departments are expected to see the first major changes due to AI integration?

Pathology, dermatology, and radiology departments are likely to be the first to see major changes due to AI integration.

What concerns are raised about the use of AI and big data in healthcare?

Concerns include the potential for surveillance within society, the need for heavy regulation of profit-driven companies, and the fairness of AI algorithms.

What responsibility do companies building AI devices have according to the script?

Companies should be accountable and have a responsibility to explain how the AI system is designed.

What is the challenge mentioned in the script regarding the integration of AI in healthcare?

The challenge is finding the balance between AI and human interaction, maintaining trust at the heart of medicine.

Outlines

00:00

🚑 AI in Healthcare: Streamlining Emergency Room Operations

This paragraph discusses the integration of artificial intelligence in healthcare, specifically in emergency rooms, to expedite patient treatment. At Humber River Hospital in Toronto, AI is used to predict patient arrivals with high accuracy, two days in advance. The software processes real-time data on admissions, wait times, transfers, and discharges, identifying patterns and bottlenecks to improve efficiency. This has resulted in the hospital being able to see an average of 29 more patients daily. The potential for a healthcare revolution in the coming decades is highlighted, with a focus on the role of AI in improving patient flow and reducing wait times.

Keywords

💡Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. In the context of the video, AI is being used to expedite patient care in emergency rooms by predicting patient arrivals and streamlining hospital operations. The script mentions that powerful computers at Humber River Hospital in Toronto are using AI to predict the number of patients arriving two days in advance, which helps in resource allocation and staff management.

💡Emergency Room

The emergency room, often abbreviated as ER, is a specialized department in a hospital that provides immediate medical care to patients with acute illnesses or severe injuries. The video script emphasizes the goal of seeing and treating patients in the ER as quickly as possible, and AI is playing a role in achieving this by improving efficiency and reducing wait times.

💡Real-time Data

Real-time data refers to information that is processed and analyzed as it is collected, without any significant delay. In the script, it is mentioned that the AI software at the hospital processes real-time data on admissions, wait times, transfers, and discharges to make accurate predictions. This data-driven approach helps in identifying patterns and bottlenecks in the hospital's workflow.

💡Deep Learning

Deep learning is a subset of machine learning that uses neural networks with many layers, allowing the computer to learn and make decisions based on patterns in data. Yoshua Bengio, one of the pioneers of deep learning mentioned in the script, has contributed to the development of AI that can make assumptions and learn from data, much like the human brain.

💡Healthcare Revolution

The term 'healthcare revolution' in the script refers to the significant transformation that AI is expected to bring to the medical field in the coming decades. The potential for AI to improve diagnostic accuracy, streamline hospital operations, and enhance patient care is seen as revolutionary, indicating a major shift in how healthcare is delivered.

💡Pathology

Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of diseases, typically through examination of tissue samples. The script suggests that pathology departments will be among the first to see major changes due to AI, as machines can be trained to analyze medical images with a level of accuracy that may rival or exceed that of human technicians.

💡Dermatology

Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin, its structure, functions, and diseases. The video script highlights that dermatology, like pathology, will likely experience significant changes with the integration of AI, particularly in the analysis of skin images for diagnosis.

💡Radiology

Radiology is a medical specialty that uses imaging techniques to diagnose and treat diseases within the body. The script mentions radiology departments as areas where AI can have a substantial impact, as machines can be trained to interpret medical images more efficiently and potentially with fewer errors than humans.

💡Surveillance

Surveillance in the context of the video refers to the monitoring of individuals, often implying an invasion of privacy. The script raises concerns about the potential for increased surveillance within society due to the need for vast amounts of personal data to train AI systems in healthcare.

💡Bioethics

Bioethics is the study of the ethical issues arising in biology, medicine, and health-related fields. A bioethicist mentioned in the script warns about the need for heavy regulation of AI in healthcare, especially when it involves big data and profit-driven companies, to ensure fairness and ethical use.

💡Algorithm Bias

Algorithm bias refers to the tendency of an algorithm to produce results that are systematically prejudiced due to the way it was designed or the data it was trained on. The script discusses the potential for AI algorithms to inherit human biases, which can affect their fairness and accuracy in healthcare applications.

💡Accountability

Accountability in the context of the video means the responsibility of companies to be transparent about how their AI systems are designed and operate. It is highlighted as a key concern to ensure that AI serves everyone fairly and does not perpetuate existing biases.

💡Human Interaction

Human interaction is the process of communication and engagement between people. The script emphasizes the importance of maintaining trust and human interaction in medicine, suggesting that finding a balance between AI and human touch will be a challenge as AI continues to advance in healthcare.

Highlights

Artificial intelligence is speeding up patient treatment in emergency rooms.

At Humber River Hospital in Toronto, computers predict patient arrivals two days in advance.

Software analyzes real-time data on admissions, wait times, transfers and discharges to find bottlenecks.

AI helps identify ways to shorten patient wait times and save money.

Hospitals using AI can see an average of 29 more patients per day.

AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare in the coming decades.

Deep learning, an advanced form of AI, allows computers to make assumptions and learn from data like the human brain.

Pathology, dermatology and radiology departments are expected to see major changes from AI first.

Machines can be trained to analyze medical images as well as or better than humans.

For machines to learn, they require vast amounts of patient data.

The increasing reliance on data for AI tools raises concerns about surveillance and privacy.

Bioethicists warn that AI integration in healthcare should be heavily regulated, especially when involving big data and profit-driven companies.

AI algorithms are created by humans and may inherit our biases, which we may not even be aware of.

Companies developing AI in healthcare should be accountable and explain how their systems are designed.

While AI offers great potential for improving medical care, finding the right balance with human interaction will be a challenge.

The core of medicine is trust and human connection, which should not be lost in the adoption of AI technologies.

Transcripts

for any patient arriving in the

emergency room the goal is to be seen

and treated as quickly as possible in a

few hospitals artificial intelligence is

now speeding things up first comment out

of my mouth when I saw this was like

whoa at Humber River in Toronto powerful

computers are now accurately predicting

how many patients will arrive in the

emergency department two days in advance

it's gonna be extremely busy with a

number of rooms that need to be cleaned

and you're gonna need a lot of staff at

that time the predictions come from

software processing real-time data on

admissions wait times transfers and

discharges stretching back over a year

it's finding patterns and pinpointing

bottlenecks so how long it takes your

doctor to see you how long you're

waiting for your bed to be clean how

long you're waiting to get up to your

room if you can shorten each one of them

you can start saving a lot of money

patients are now moving through the

system faster allowing the hospital to

see an average of 29 more patients a day

the potential for really almost a

revolution in in healthcare in the next

in the next few decades is his huge

yoshua bengio is one of the pioneers of

deep learning an advanced form of AI

based on the data they're fed computer

programs can now make assumptions and

learn as they go much like the brain

does pathology dermatology and radiology

departments will likely be the first to

see major changes all of these images

right now are processed by people who

painstakingly have to look at all the

details and check for problems and so on

and can sometimes be disrupted and miss

things machines can be trained to be as

good or better than doctors or

technicians at these tasks but in order

for machines to learn they need vast

amounts of information from us in our

hunger for more data in order to power

these Reap these tools are we

introducing a form of surveillance

within our society this bioethicists

isn't against AI integration in health

care but warns anything involving big

data profit driven companies and health

care should be heavily regulated and AI

won't necessarily

barely serve everyone fairly the

algorithms aren't coming out of nowhere

as human beings we're creating those so

many of the biases that we might have

ourselves we bring those and we may not

even be aware of those the companies

that are building those devices should

be accountable should have a

responsibility to explain how the system

is designed it's gonna happen everyone

agrees ai offers huge potential for

improving medical care have you traveled

outside the country but the heart of

medicine is trust and human interaction

finding the balance will be a challenge

Christine Burak CBC News Toronto