Can a Better Diagnosis Lead to Better Health?

We have written articles about Artificial Intelligence before, but nothing hits home like making it personal – your health and the health of your loved ones.  Some of the most important and valuable medical tools are those that produce Images, like CT scans, X-Rays, MRI’s, Mammograms etc.  The standard routine today is for highly trained specialists, like Radiologists, to analyze images and detect anomalies, all helping to determine a course of action to remedy problems detected in the images.  The quality of the image is a big factor in the accuracy of the diagnosis, and technology now provides some very high quality images, and better imaging technologies are emerging all the time.  Currently, diagnosis relies on well trained humans to recognize and interpret each image.  It is a very demanding and time consuming manual process.  Humans are sometimes overworked and get tired, which can cause errors or omissions.  Humans, when they are tired, may not quickly or accurately recognize a subtle pattern or condition.  A machine that can analyze many images accurately in a short time period has the advantage of being able to work around the clock without getting tired.  A very high level of precision is needed here, and we humans could all use some help – we all stand to benefit.

There are several companies developing and introducing devices and software that analyze images faster and more accurately than humans, using Artificial Intelligence (AI).  The developments use deep machine learning to “teach” their software to “see” everything accurately in every image.  With ultra modern 3-D images, machine analysis can detect much more, and report quickly about problem conditions.  Machine analysis can significantly increase the detection rates for tumors, blood anomalies, bone damage, and brain damage.  It can also reduce instances of inaccurate or incomplete diagnoses, as machine analysis can see things in an image that the naked eye cannot, and recognize patterns that challenge or elude human memory.  Machine analysis can quickly scan hundreds of images and make use of them all to detect problems that may not be evident or obvious when observing only a small number of scans.  Given this big leap forward in diagnostic technology, the potential for a big leap forward in treatment success awaits us all.

But wait – does all of this progress come without a struggle? Of course not!!  When it comes to health and medicine there are many hurdles to be leapt, and rightly so, as there are human lives at stake. In the USA the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) treats new medical equipment in much the same way as it treats new drugs – they must all pass rigorous testing to ensure that they are safe for humans, and that they will benefit humans.  Harmful drugs and equipment must be stopped, and so must drugs and equipment that do not fulfill their promises.

Health technology is a very large investment space, and there are many large and small corporations conducting Research and Development using AI.  The new machines are expected to provide faster and better medical imaging diagnoses, assisting doctors and patients to get to a healthier place much sooner.  There are so many reasons that health care is expensive and complicated, but at the end of the day, there is probably no better investment than good health – without your health, nothing much else really matters.

Let Trend Disruptors be your guide to the future, as we continue to identify technology investment opportunities that can lead to financial success.

Stay Tuned!