SAN ANTONIO, TX (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Artificial intelligence can already emulate human cognition and is utilized by physicians to customize patient treatment and perform robotic surgery. Now, two Texas institutions are joining medicine and AI with a dual degree offered to medical students.
UT Health San Antonio at San Antonio and UTSA established the first program in the country offering a dual degree — a Doctor of Medicine and Master of Science in Artificial Intelligence.
“Whether we like it or not, it’s going to move forward. And it can either move forward with us driving the technology or us being driven by the technology,” says Ronald Rodriguez, MD, PhD, and professor at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.
AI already produces diagnostic algorithms from a machine-learning model and analyzes real-time surgical video.
Fourth year med. student at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Niklesh Akula explains, “You can even use it in the operating room where you have a surgeon going in with a camera and then the AI is able to analyze what it sees on the camera feed.”
This innovative dual degree is designed to nurture “out-of-the-box” thinking, which Dr. Rodriguez is already seeing.
“We’ve got a really robust group of first-years who have self-organized their own interest group, and are taking on new projects, largely self-initiated,” he says.
Now he’s pursuing grants to involve high school students, after helping students like Niklesh.
“It has pushed me in a lot of ways that I didn’t even know I was capable of achieving, I guess,” he surmises.
Dr. Rodriguez explains, “There’s a lot of enthusiasm. They see the potential probably better than those of us that are older see it.”
Artificial intelligence is expected to improve the overall patient experience and improve efficiency in hospital systems. And these graduates will be up to speed with innovative technology training.
Contributors to this news report include: Donna Parker, Producer; Bruce Maniscales, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.
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Sources:
MEDICAL BREAKTHROUGHS
RESEARCH SUMMARY
TITLE: DOCTORS OF THE FUTURE: IT’S ALL ABOUT AI
REPORT: MB #5405
BACKGROUND: Artificial intelligence is transforming healthcare by enabling more personalized, effective, and efficient patient treatments. Leveraging vast amounts of data, AI systems can analyze complex medical information, predict outcomes, and support decision-making processes to customize patient care. The AI algorithms can analyze genetic data, medical histories, lifestyle factors, and environmental data to predict the risk of developing certain diseases, allowing for early intervention and prevention strategies. The technology can forecast treatment outcomes based on historical data, helping physicians choose the most effective treatment plans for individual patients.
(Source: https://www.foreseemed.com/artificial-intelligence-in-healthcare)
DIAGNOSING: The use of artificial intelligence for diagnosing patients is allowing healthcare providers to catch many things they missed in previous diagnostic procedure methods. AI algorithms can analyze medical images such as X-rays, MRIs, and CT scans with high precision, identifying abnormalities that may be missed by human radiologists. AI can assist pathologists by analyzing biopsy samples to detect cancerous cells and other pathological changes. Machine learning models trained on vast datasets can identify patterns in tissue samples, improving diagnostic accuracy. The models can predict an individual’s risk of developing certain diseases based on their genetic makeup, lifestyle factors, and medical history. This allows for proactive measures to prevent or mitigate the onset of diseases.
(Sources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6268174/
https://www.aamc.org/news/it-cancer-artificial-intelligence-helps-doctors-get-clearer-picture
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10744168/
NEW TECHNOLOGY: A new program being used to help and treat patients called OpenEvidence led by scientists at Harvard University is now using AI to read through the newest medical research and synthesize the information for new users. Experts believe that doctors could use this information to research patient’s medical history before a diagnosis.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Eileen Teves
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