Demystifying AI in Healthcare
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has great potential for healthcare, but it is not always clear in what way, and many healthcare professionals are still reluctant to use AI. On June 28, the ‘Demystifying AI in Healthcare’ symposium aimed to improve this issue. Different professionals in the field went beyond the hype to explore the real impact of AI in healthcare.
The symposium was a collaboration between Leiden University’s SAILS programme and CAIRELab of the LUMC, which led to an interesting and interdisciplinary combination of speakers from both computer science and healthcare. Presentation topics were related both to the use of AI in clinical practice and AI research that can be applied to healthcare, such as using text mining for knowledge discovery.
Opportunities for discussion
Not only the speakers had various backgrounds, so had the visitors of the symposium, which led to interesting discussions during the break moments. At the end of the afternoon, several reserve pitches were held, where professionals had the chance to talk about the challenges they face. This enabled both speakers and visitors to further discuss the potential of AI and create opportunities for collaboration.
The future of AI in healthcare
At the end of the afternoon, several takeaways were formulated. Although implementing AI in healthcare is a step-by-step process, it is important to bridge the gap between technology and healthcare professionals, as well as combat the fear and reluctance for AI that still persists today. We should invest in developing the competencies needed to create AI tools for healthcare and build a community of professionals. This symposium was a good step for building such a community, which is promising for the future of AI in healthcare.
The Society, Artificial Intelligence and Life Sciences (SAILS) programme is a university-wide network of AI-researchers from all seven faculties of Leiden University. The aim of the programme is to expand knowledge of AI and its uses for the benefit of society as a whole, in order to help withstand the challenges it is facing. The Clinical AI Implementation and Research Lab (CAIRELab) is the knowledge and expertise center of the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) for AI in healthcare. CAIRELab focuses on the development, implementation, and valuation of AI in medical practice.