Over the life, people undergo dozens of examinations and receive diagnoses and appointments – but it seems that they are tired of taking risks in the process: doctors may be wrong, treatment may not be appropriate, even surgery may not be the right decision. So when medical prognostics using big data analytics became available, it gave doctors and patients optimism about the future of medicine – without mistakes and with lives saved.

Disease diagnosis now involves artificial intelligence models such as ANNs (Artificial Neural Networks). They are computational systems that replicate the work of biological neural networks, generally resembling the neural networks of the brain.

What are Artificial Neural Networks capable of today?

• Diagnostics: rapid detection of heart disease and cancer based on big data.
• Biochemical analysis: it is possible to reduce the time required to examine urine and blood samples, and as a result it is possible, for example, to effectively monitor blood glucose levels, which is important for diabetics, or to detect pathology where it may not be obvious to a doctor.
• Image analysis: this is one of the early opportunities for ANNs, with networks studying X-rays and MRI scans.
• Drug development: Artificial neural networks are used in the development of drugs to treat various conditions. Big data in these cases allows us to see more variations in how drugs affect the body.

How else is artificial intelligence represented in the world of medicine?

Atomvise is creating and testing machine learning-based tools that are designed to help medical professionals find the right drugs faster, sorting safer ones from toxic ones.

In the diagnostics sector, iCarbonX and Butterfly Networks are also involved in the implementation of artificial intelligence. The Chinese company iCarbonX, based on artificial intelligence technologies, intends to create a digital prototype of a person containing data on medical samples, lifestyle, and ecology. By analyzing such a set of information about a person, the iCarbonX product will be able to provide accurate personalized health advice.

Butterfly Networks is developing technology that automates ultrasound diagnostics – for this purpose, ultrasound diagnostic doctors are specially trained by an algorithm. The company has already raised about $100 million in investment for research and development.