HOW DIGITAL MEDICINE COULD CHANGE THE WORLD

Professor Dean Ho tells us about three potential applications of AI in improving healthcare

FUTURE PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS

Identif.ai can possibly function as a supporting platform for pandemic responsiveness in the future. “The next time a new bug shows up, let’s not spend a year and a half studying combinations,” says Ho. Instead, once the virus is isolated, researchers could conduct tests based on a pool of existing drugs suggested by doctors, and the platform could help to provide suggestions on the most promising combinations to focus on within a matter of weeks.”

COMBAT DRUG-RESISTANT BUGS

There are bacterial and fungal species that are resistant to medicines—they are known to cause the deaths of people with compromised immune systems, such as transplant patients or children with leukaemia. “We are now designing combinations with existing drugs that are accessible and inexpensive, to go after these drug-resistant bugs,” he says. “We are already getting some cool results and this is part of our goal to make sure that patients do not die unnecessarily, when we have optimisation at our fingertips.”

VIDEO GAMES AS THERAPY FOR COGNITIVE DECLINE

Currently, there is an interest in preventing cognitive decline in seniors, as well as brain-cancer or diabetic patients. The team is in the process of developing a digital gaming platform which will dynamically change the difficulty level of a task, depending on how the individual performs. Ho explains, “The tasks and the software are the medicine. As people start playing the game, we can map out their individualised performance, so that we can optimise and improve their cognitive performance faster.”