The coronavirus has got people frightened and panicking. They realize how fragile life is and they want cures. They don’t care much about what goes into a cure, they just want to see improvements in the handling of deadly diseases.
Certainly, medicine is changing with Artificial Intelligence (AI). Machines and robots are already doing a good job accurately and efficiently diagnosing and treating different diseases.
We look at ways AI is playing a role in medicine and healthcare.
AI in nursing homes
Many nursing homes are already making use of AI-powered innovations to respond to the needs of seniors. The United Nations tells us that the senior population of the world will double between the years 2017 and 2050.
As this older population explodes in numbers, it is thought that AI robots can be a huge help in retirement homes. Loneliness is a huge factor with any seniors and the use of AI robots for senior companionship, while still in quite early stages, looks to be a good solution.
Robots can be programmed to be respectful and they’re capable of relieving some seniors from errors such as not remembering to take their medications each day. Scientists believe that AI innovations will improve wellbeing, health and quality of life for seniors,
Medicare and supplement insurance
If you’re a senior, you qualify for Medicare parts A, B & D and you’re eligible for supplementary plans as well. This supplemental insurance covers what Medicare doesn’t cover. Its insurance that can be customized to your needs, meaning you can buy additional insurance at Medisupps.com to cover what Medicare doesn’t cover.
These Medicare supplement plans for 2021, also known as Medigap plans, are separate insurance policies offered by private insurance companies. There are 10 different plans named with a letter A to N. It doesn’t matter which insurance carrier offers the plans, they all have to contain the same benefits within the Plan’s letter.
There can be no fraud or cheating, as AI is designed to eliminate fraud and abuse. AI has many applications in healthcare and it also increases the ability for healthcare professionals to better understand the needs of the people that they’re caring for so that they can provide better guidance and feedback for them on how to be healthy.
Machines assist in surgery
Surgeons are able to perform a number of surgical procedures while only requiring a small incision in the patient’s body. This is because once inside the body, the surgeon is able to control the surgical instruments through mechanical arms.
The surgeon is able to see the surgical site at the same time in 3D high definition. Because this type of surgery, assisted by AI, is so minimally invasive, the surgery can yield less blood loss, less pain and less infection and quicker recovery times when compared to surgery where these machines and devices aren’t used.
But at this stage, it’s not all systems go with AI. Robotic assistance devices for mastectomies, for instance, as well as other cancer surgeries may have poor outcomes for patients. Health care in some areas still can’t be completely in the hands of machines.
AI extends into veterinary medicine
Veterinarians have even developed an algorithm utilizing artificial intelligence to detect diseases in dogs. Addison’s disease, for instance, is a life-threatening illness in dogs and now the AI algorithm has an accuracy rate of more than 99%. This when it is a known fact that Addison’s disease is extremely difficult to recognize.
The vague clinical signs can go undetected for years. The vets wanted some kind of an alert system to inform vets when Addison’s disease is likely and this AI-powered algorithm does just that.
When a sick dog comes in, the first tests ordered are the routine blood tests. The vets use routine blood work to train an AI program to detect complex patterns from dogs that have been previously treated. The computer program learns the patterns, and with high accuracy, can determine if a dog has Addison’s disease.