Human-AI The Future of Healthcare

Here at First Derm, we believe that technology plays and will play an increasingly important role in our healthcare. In fact, we have created the most complex skin image searcher in the world through AI. This technology has helped many patients and professionals alike.

Fortunately, we’re not the only ones. A recent study at the university of Queensland has found that AI can play a harmonious role with medical professionals when used correctly. Lets take a look in detail…

 

The Study

Doctors and medical professionals at the University of Queensland were keen to establish a clear method for using AI. There has been a significant rise in telemedicine services such as First Derm and they are proving to be very important during the pandemic. AI is the next logical step after telemedicine services. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that we find a way to use AI in a way that positively impacts doctors.

Their study focussed on the skin image matching AI used to detect skin cancer. Not unlike our own AI which can detect 43 skin diseases with 80% accuracy. The difference in this study versus many others was the focus on how the AI would work with humans. This is of stark contrast to previous studies that focus on the accuracy of the AI.

 

The Results

The results favoured a version of use that is now known as ‘Human-AI’. The AI acted as a clinical decision support tool, much like our own AI. To quote the study:

“ We find that good quality AI-based support of clinical decision-making improves diagnostic accuracy over that of either AI or physicians alone, and that the least experienced clinicians gain the most from AI-based support.”

In all, the AI helped physicians make their decisions. For the more experienced it confirmed their judgement and for the least experienced it helped them reach the correct conclusion. It is worth noting that the study found that AI worked best when combined with a Human. Hence the name ‘Human-AI’.

Of particular interest is the impact AI had on the mindset of physicians. Although the study demonstrated that AI was a fantastic triage tool for non-expert clinicians, it also had an impact on the experts. When performing various tests, less accurate AI was used and it was found to influence the most experienced clinicians despite being incorrect. If anything, this emphasises a few key points:

1. Clinicians whether experienced or not, do have faith in AI. They are willing to consider the results provided by AI.
2. This means that it is imperative that AI is accurate. Without accuracy it could mislead physicians
3. Physicians will require adequate training in order to understand how AI works and provides results – this will aid in decision making.

 

Human AI – The Future

If you have followed us at First Derm for long enough you will know that AI is nothing new to us. We consider it to be a fantastic tool for the future and our skin image searcher has only proven that.

Our AI is used in clinics, by medical professionals and the general public. Some of the most successful use cases are when combined with doctors and physicians. Frequently, it can be used as a triage tool which speeds up accurate patient diagnoses and eases the pressure on our already limited health services. Defining its most useful method as human-ai is something we would agree with here.

If you’re interested in playing your part in improving the accuracy of AI then you’re free to test ours. With just a simple smartphone image we are able to accurately provide 5 potential matches in order of best match. Give it a try today and see the future of healthcare in your hands!