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Insight and Technology

AIs that diagnose diseases are starting to assist and replace doctors

Digital doctors are already in use, but there are big questions about how they work. Are we ready for the rise of AI healthcare?

By Michael Le Page

26 June 2019

MRI scanner

AIs can be trained to look for problems in MRI scans

baranozdemir/Getty

ARTIFICIALLY intelligent doctors are here. Thousands of people in the US and Europe have already been screened by an AI system for detecting diabetes-related blindness without the involvement of a human doctor. The system was approved last year after it outperformed trained professionals in a trial.

More AI tests will kick off in the next few years. They look set to improve the diagnosis of many conditions, from breast and lung cancer to broken wrists and glaucoma. Any hospital that can afford the necessary equipment will…

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