{"id":32796,"date":"2019-06-21T03:57:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T10:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=32796"},"modified":"2019-06-20T12:24:16","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T19:24:16","slug":"using-ai-in-health-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2019\/06\/21\/using-ai-in-health-care\/","title":{"rendered":"Using AI in health care"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prof. Yuval Shahar, left, and David Berson with Dr. Rachael Ritchie of Vancouver Coastal Health. <\/span>(photo by Shula Klinge<\/span>r)<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The use of artificial intelligence is intended \u201cto harness the power of computers with math and statistics theory to improve the diagnosis and care of patients,\u201d according to Dr. Yuval Shahar, professor of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev\u2019s software and information systems engineering department.<\/p>\n

Between May 23 and 30, Canadian Associates of BGU, B.C. and Alberta Region, hosted a visit from Shahar, whose research explores how information technologies can be used to improve numerous aspects of healthcare.<\/p>\n

Shahar has spent 30 years working in digital medicine, gained his bachelor and medical degrees from the Hebrew University, and a master\u2019s in computer science from Yale University. He did his doctorate at Stanford University, where he also spent 10 years as a faculty member in the computer science and medicine department. He founded BGU\u2019s Medical Informatics Research Centre in 2000 and, in 2017, was elected as a founding member of the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics.<\/p>\n

During his time in Vancouver, Shahar presented his work to full lecture halls across town, including at Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia, various government offices, Vancouver General Hospital, Pacific Blue Cross and some start-ups.<\/p>\n

The program with which Shahar works requires patients to wear an ECG (echocardiographic) belt around their chest to monitor their heart, as well as a blood pressure cuff. This allows a patient to receive care 24 hours a day. Using Bluetooth, the data collected from these devices are sent to the patient\u2019s cellphone and then to the program\u2019s server in Israel.<\/p>\n

MobiGuide was developed with 13 partners in Europe, including Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Austria. Even with 63 other projects competing for funding \u2013 including teams at Oxford and Cambridge universities \u2013 the MobiGuide team received seven million euros. \u201cBen-Gurion already had the necessary technology working,\u201d said Shahar.<\/p>\n

The program is led by an Israeli team in the main technology centre at BGU, with the partners from across Europe. Shahar explained how the system works, using the analogy of today\u2019s mapping software. \u201cIt\u2019s like a medical version of GPS,\u201d he said. Right now, the program\u2019s focus is on diabetes and hypertension.<\/p>\n

One advantage of MobiGuide is the way the server handles massive amounts of clinical research, explained Shahar. For instance, when international guidelines for treating hypertension change, you can update that information in one place and it will be reflected throughout the entire system. That information is then immediately available to all patients and their physicians on the MobiGuide system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are millions of patients on the system now,\u201d said Shahar. \u201cEach cellphone has a customized version of the guidelines in the program so the phone alerts the \u2018mothership\u2019 and the server examines the data for anomalies. The mothership knows the full patient history and clinical guidelines.\u201d<\/p>\n

The server in Israel also reminds patients to make adjustments, such as to their diet. A phone can contact the mothership to ask for advice, and recommendations are customized for each individual. Personal preferences can be adjusted depending on the patient \u2013 for example, when they prefer to be alerted to take their medications. If they are on vacation, they can ask the system not to alert them as frequently.<\/p>\n

The system can also be notified to anticipate spikes in blood glucose. For instance, if a patient is attending a wedding and expects to eat rich food, she can tell the system first that it need not be concerned about this. Likewise, if a patient lives alone and has nobody to rely on for support with their health, the system can issue different instructions than for someone with a companion.<\/p>\n

Humans are, however, still essential to the smooth running of the system. Shahar relies on \u201cmedical-knowledge engineers, graduate students,\u201d who digitize clinical knowledge so that it can be applied on the system. But, he said, \u201cIt\u2019s a sign of the future. Chronic patients won\u2019t need to be in clinics all of the time. You want to be there only if there\u2019s no other way.\u201d It is cheaper to offer care in the community, especially in remote areas, even while offering round-the-clock observation.<\/p>\n

To date, feedback from patients and the professional community has been consistently good. Compliance with clinical guidelines by physicians has improved, preventing a great deal of human error and possibly fatal mistakes, said Shahar. Likewise, he said, \u201cCompliance was very high, we saw real patient empowerment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patients \u201csaid that their quality of life had improved, they felt more secure and safe,\u201d said Shahar. This is important, he explained, because AI in healthcare is not just about technology \u2013 human psychology has a huge impact on both patient treatment and outcomes.<\/p>\n

As an example of the program\u2019s success, Shahar said, in Barcelona, pregnant women with gestational diabetes were studied. The blood pressure of the research patients was significantly lower than in the control group, who attended in-person clinics. Shahar explained that these data were accompanied by a sense that a \u201cbenevolent big brother was monitoring them, and someone was sending alerts and recommendations every few days.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a four-year evaluation hosted by a veterans hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., there is evidence that the software developed by Shahar\u2019s team has helped physicians manage oncology data better than before. With only seven to 10 minutes to give to each patient, physicians simply do not have the time to review all the material they need to, while considering its application and significance to individual patients.<\/p>\n

In his talk at the Eye Care Centre at VGH, Shahar recalled asking a patient if she minded getting numerous texts from MobiGuide every day. \u201cShe laughed, I get 50 texts from my friends, what\u2019s another 20?\u201d he said. But, in reality, she clarified, \u201cHow could I mind? This is about the health of my baby.\u201d Shahar added, \u201cThey feel that someone knows them deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to David Berson, regional executive director of CABGU, Shahar\u2019s visit was a success. He said BGU will examine how Shahar\u2019s research in medical informatics can dovetail with local efforts to revolutionize healthcare, exploring the potential for \u201cpatient empowerment, remote monitoring, decision-making support and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

BGU board member and innovation expert Jonathan Miodowski said there was a need to balance between \u201cblue-sky research and practical solutions\u201d to real-world problems. \u201cMultidisciplinary approach is a hot topic for universities these days \u2013 it is critical to bring different perspectives to the research,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Miodowski described Israel as a world leader in innovation. Last year, Canada raised $4.7 billion in start-up capital, he said, noting that Israeli start-ups, by contrast, raised $10 billion. \u201cFor a country that is two-thirds the size of Vancouver Island, that\u2019s pretty significant,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a sense, the size of the territory is very convenient. Cross-pollination of ideas is inevitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Miodowski also spoke well of the Vancouver visit. \u201cWe planted some seeds on both sides,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was very positive. There was real interest in Yuval\u2019s research, real appreciation for what Israel has done in terms of its innovation ecosystem.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shula Klinger <\/strong>is an author and journalist living in North Vancouver. Find out more at shulaklinger.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prof. Yuval Shahar, left, and David Berson with Dr. Rachael Ritchie of Vancouver Coastal Health. (photo by Shula Klinger) The use of artificial intelligence is intended \u201cto harness the power of computers with math and statistics theory to improve the diagnosis and care of patients,\u201d according to Dr. Yuval Shahar, professor of Ben-Gurion University of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32797,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1908,1910,8162,705,2864,4330,9072,9073,1881,9071],"class_list":["post-32796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","tag-ben-gurion-university","tag-bgu","tag-cabgu","tag-david-berson","tag-health","tag-israel","tag-jonathan-miodowski","tag-mobiguide","tag-technology","tag-yuval-shahar"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}