Bernard Marr , Contributor

Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

Crucial time and tremendous amounts of resources are lost every day in the worlds healthcare
systems. Misdiagnoses cost unnecessary additional tests, result in delayed treatment plans and
diminished survival or remission rates from what would have transpired had it been caught and
identified correctly earlier. False positives on tests. Trials, treatments and research completed in
silos so theres no leveraging the insights across the country or the world.

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Machine learning offers lots of opportunities for the healthcare industry

Some healthcare and technology innovators are collaborating and trying to change our current
reality by experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Computers and
the algorithms they run can scrub colossal amounts of datamuch faster and more accurately
than human scientists or medical professionalsto unearth patterns and predictions to enhance
disease diagnosis, inform treatment plans and enhance public health and safety.

Based on the extraordinary impact improvements to the healthcare system can have for so many
people and its potential to save lives and money, healthcare has become a key industry for
investment and efforts for AI and machine learning. Not only have major players such as IBM
and Microsoft jumped into their own AI healthcare projects, but several start-ups and smaller
organizations have begun their own efforts to create tools to aid healthcare.

And, the savings would be tremendous. One report from McKinsey estimates big data could save
medicine and pharma up to $100B annually as a result of improved efficiencies in clinical trials
and research, better insight for decision-making and new tools that will help insurers, regulators,
physicians and consumers make better decisions.

Machine learning algorithms improve the more data they are exposed to. If there is one thing the
healthcare systems has in abundance, its data. Due to different storage systems, ownership and
privacy concerns, and no established process that allows people to easily share data with each
other, there is a major amount of analysis thats not currently being done that could glean
tremendous results for patients, doctors and healthcare organizations.

AI aids in disease identification and diagnosis

Much of the AI work done thus far in healthcare is focused on disease identification and
diagnosis. From Sophia Genetics that is using AI to evaluate DNA to diagnose illnesses to
smartphone apps that can determine a concussion and monitor other concerns such as newborn
jaundice, lung function of those suffering from chronic respiratory diseases, blood pressure,
hemoglobin levels and even evaluate coughs, disease and health monitoring is at the forefront of
the machine learning efforts.

Since heart disease is a primary killer of human beings around the world, its no surprise that
effort and focus from many AI innovators is on heart disease diagnosis and prevention. The
current process to determine an individuals risk factor for a heart attack is to look at the
American College of Cardiology/American Heart Associations (ACC/AHA) list of risk factors
that include age, blood pressure and more. However, this is really a simplistic approach and
doesnt take into account medications someone might be on, the health of the patients other
biological systems and other factors that could increase odds of a heart ailment. Several research
teams, including those at Carnegie Mellon University and a study from Stephen Weng and his
associates at University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom, are working toward enhancing
machine learning so algorithms will be able to predict (better than humans) who is at risk and
when they might be at risk for a heart attack. Preliminary results of the AI algorithms were
significantly better at predicting heart attacks than the ACC/AHA guidelines.

From liver disease to cancer and even psychosis and Schizophrenia, AI algorithms are changing
the game in terms of disease diagnosis. Machines are now learning how to read CT scans and
other imaging diagnostic tests to identify abnormalities. Although some predict the end of
radiologists as we know them, others see AI acting as a radiologists assistant.