Creating a space for deepening understandings as well as exchanging opinions and ideas on AI in healthcare
About AI in healthcare
AI technologies are rapidly being introduced into the field of healthcare.
As healthcare has advanced over the past century, human beings have been able to better tackle many disease areas, and life expectancy has been greatly extended. The expectations of AI technologies in the years to come are extremely high with the promise that they will help diagnostics, lead to personalized medicine and more streamlined procedures.
It is expected that AI will become an increasingly indispensable tool for the rapid detection and treatment of disease.
There are a wide variety of AI technologies that can or will be used in healthcare and we outline some of these below.
More rapidly, more precisely!
AI technologies can complement and enhance the skills of healthcare professionals (HCPs) leading to faster and more accurate detection, diagnosis, prediction, and treatment of diseases.
Examples: AI technologies for diagnostic imaging, prognosis prediction, and diagnostic support
Making time for care!
Many HCPs must handle a large number of tasks, and often struggle to make sufficient time for each patient. AI technology is expected to reduce the burden on HCPs and allow them to concentrate on the tasks that are patient-facing.
Examples: AI technologies such as AI assistants, speech recognition, natural language processing, emotion detection from facial expressions
AI technology has the potential to bring about not only advanced and more individualized medical care, but also to increase the quality of interactions of patients and HCPs, increasing the satisfaction of both.
The idea of the AIDE Project came from an awareness of the key role that AI will play in healthcare, and the need to find mechanisms to ensure key stakeholder involvement.
How can we ensure that the expected benefits of AI in healthcare are realised?
A key question for the AIDE Project is how to ensure that the expectations of key stakeholders, especially patients and the public, are realised in relation to the development and implementation of healthcare AI.
Given how transformative AI is likely to be in healthcare, it is important that patients and the public help shape the future. Patient and Public involvement (PPI) is called for to ensure that development and implementation is shaped to the needs of end-users: that AI in healthcare is acceptable, ethical and garners trust.
The AIDE Project is involving researchers, HCPs, patients, public, and AI developers to explore stakeholder perspectives and to ultimately create a sustainable platform to help ensure stakeholder involvement with AI technology into the future.
We welcome your involvement in this project. Please feel free to contact us.
Working with international research partners
The AIDE Project is a joint research project with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. We are taking an international perspective and exchanging information on AI technologies for healthcare, to ensure that the vision of the project is broad enough to AID others implementing AI in healthcare in other countries as well.
We are utilizing a variety of perspectives and expertise in this project
Both at Osaka University and the University of Oxford, the AIDE Project benefits from the input of a variety of experts from diverse fields including the human sciences, ethics and public policy in the medical field, law, informatics, and medicine. We are also bringing about exchanges between our Patient and Public Involvement Panels (PPIPs) and Advisory Boards in both countries to ensure that experiences are shared and effectively inform the research process.
Each country’s team has an Advisory Board composed of experts, including patients and members of the public, who are external to the project.
In addition, a Patient and Public Involvement Panel (PPIP) has been created in each country to contribute to the design and implementation of the project. This sets our work apart from conventional research projects which are conducted by researchers alone.
Collaboration with the AI Hospital Project at Osaka University
At Osaka University Hospital (OUH), research is also being conducted separately as a part of the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program of the Cabinet Office of Japan. OUH has been designated as an AI Hospital and is already actively working to introduce AI into its advanced diagnosis and treatment system. Some members of our research team are active on both projects. There is mutual support between the projects.
The AIDE Project is greatly benefiting from its relationship with the AI Hospital project. At the same time, we expect our work on stakeholder involvement and engagement will feed directly back into the AI Hospital project.
Technologies being implemented at Osaka University Hospital
Voice recognition, emotion recognition, natural language processing, AI-powered sensor technology, diagnostic support through image and sensor recognition.