By Phil Brunkard, CIO Regional Government and Health, BT
I need not be a futurologist to predict that artificial intelligence (AI) technology is a development which is likely to revolutionize the [UK’s National Health Service (NHS)] and broader public sector.
Concepts such as a ‘Convolutional Neural Network’, which uses a deep-learning algorithm in the field of machine vision to automatically and visually manage asset inventory, could become a reality. Whilst a future vision of BT providing telepathic communication services may seem like science fiction, in the near term neural lace could realistically be used to treat brain conditions like epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease.
We shall soon see the increasing use of AI for diagnosis and robotics for remote surgery. This is to be executed over 5G. In fact, many of the most innovative use cases envisaged for 5G are in the healthcare area, predominantly enabled by the expected low latency capabilities of 5G networks. 5G enabled capability will allow patients to access high-quality medical care, remotely and in real time. 5G will potentially revolutionise healthcare services where real-time care will become the norm rather than the exception.
We are currently conducting research together with Kings College London to explore how low latency 5G can support remote diagnostics or robotic surgery using haptic feedback. Haptic feedback uses the sense of touch in a user interface design to provide information to an end user via tactile sensors.
In this case a medical professional such as a GP or surgeon remotely controls a robotic arm and effectively gets the same sense of touch. This could make it possible for medical professionals to operate upon a patient from afar using a robotic arm and could be particularly beneficial for the accuracy in detection of cancer nodules for example. Haptic feedback capability can also be applied for emergency response (i.e. ambulances) where the paramedic can immediately diagnose or undertake surgery at the scene, potentially saving lives.
The use of wearables in the health sector will be a particularly interesting trend, with the chief executive of NHS England, Simon Stevens, putting his support behind wearable technology in December last year.
Whist wearables help people increase better awareness of their own health, there is an opportunity for medical relevant wearable technology to promote patient self-care and preventative medicine management. The Department of Health estimates that patients not adhering to their physician’s guidance cost the NHS up to £300 million a year in unused medicines. In a patient with a chronic condition, such as diabetes or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a wearable monitoring device can alert them earlier to a change in their health which needs medical attention or remind the need for complying with their prescriptions.
Devices with sensors worn by patients can collect data on glucose levels, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, sleep patterns and coagulation rates. The connected medical wearables and implants can also check patients are taking their prescribed medicines and perhaps even administer drugs too.
The potential to integrate wearable patient monitoring devices into existing patient care record systems, healthcare diagnostic and prescription systems would also make it easier to track patient recovery and health outcomes. Future medical-grade wearables can connect into a system of constant monitoring, improving healthcare by collecting real-time biometrics from the body. Furthermore, with the development of the Internet of Things and the deployment of sensor technologies to collect data from our homes, our cities and across all aspects of our surroundings, there are even greater opportunities to correlate between our environment and our wellbeing. For example the connection between air pollution and chronic asthma sufferers in potentially deprived areas is being evaluated across a number of council areas.
Information can be fed back to the patient’s physician, creating an ongoing record of how their condition is progressing and alerting them if it is deteriorating or flagging if a face-to-face consultation or if a hospital visit may be required. It will also enable the patient to take a more active role in managing their own condition.
The CityVerve Smart Cities initiative in Manchester is setting up a ‘biometric sensor network’ to help improve responses to patients’ conditions and improve how local healthcare services work. Street furniture and connectivity infrastructure such as lamp posts and street cabinets on the Manchester Corridor will be used to monitor air quality at different heights and locations. Information will be passed to those with health conditions and made generally available to support walking options and routes.
As part of the programme, we are working with application developers to define how patients can control how and where their personal data is shared and to allow them make an informed decision on who (which organisations) they agree for their personal information to be shared.
Meanwhile, we could see the use of AI chatbots to provide health guidance and advice to reduce the number of 111 calls. ‘Chatbots’ or virtual agents that combine AI with chat interaction within a contact center environment to help people perform tasks such as locating information. These innovative new tools use a combination of natural language processing, sentiment analysis, and user context to provide a better self-service experience to customers or patients.
