We have read a lot about the death ratio round the world while taking selfie. But here we are talking about taking the selfie to save the life. Yes, it is all possible through Artificial Intelligence.
The quality of cell phone cameras is increasing every year, and can produce images that are viable for analysis by artificial intelligence algorithms. Dermatology, ophthalmology, heart diseases and routine check-ups are already tried and tested.
Researchers in the United Kingdom have even developed a tool that identifies developmental diseases by analyzing images of a child’s face. The algorithm can detect discrete features, such as a child’s jaw line, eye and nose placement, and other attributes that might indicate a craniofacial abnormality. Currently, the tool can match the ordinary images to more than 90 disorders to provide clinical decision support.
“This is a great opportunity for us. Almost every major player in the industry has started to build AI software and hardware into their devices. That’s not a coincidence. Every day in our digital world, we generate more than 2.5 million terabytes of data. In cell phones, the manufacturers believe they can use that data with AI to provide much more personalized and faster and smarter services.”
Using smartphones to collect images of eyes, skin lesions, wounds, infections, medications, or other subjects may be able to help underserved areas cope with a shortage of specialists while reducing the time-to-diagnosis for certain complaints.
“There is something big happening,” said Shafiee. “We can leverage that opportunity to address some of the important problems with have in disease management at the point of care.” Sending a “selfie” to the doctor could be a cheap and simple way of detecting heart disease, according to the authors of a new study.
The study is the first to show that it’s possible to use a deep learning computer algorithm to detect coronary artery disease (CAD) by analyzing four photographs of a person’s face. Although the algorithm needs to be developed further and tested in larger groups of people from different ethnic backgrounds, the researchers say it has the potential to be used as a screening tool that could identify possible heart disease in people in the general population or in high-risk groups, who could be referred for further clinical investigation.
“To our knowledge, this is the first work demonstrating that artificial intelligence can be used to analyze faces to detect heart disease. It is a step towards the development of a deep learning-based tool that could be used to assess the risk of heart disease, either in outpatient clinics or by means of patients taking ‘selfies’ to perform their own screening. This could guide further diagnostic testing or a clinical visit,” said Professor Zhe Zheng, who led the research and is vice director of the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases and vice president of Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China. He continued: “Our ultimate goal is to develop a self-reported application for high risk communities to assess heart disease risk in advance of visiting a clinic. This could be a cheap, simple and effective of identifying patients who need further investigation. However, the algorithm requires further refinement and external validation in other populations and ethnicity.”
It is known already that certain facial features are associated with an increased risk of heart disease. These include thinning or grey hair, wrinkles, ear lobe crease, xanthelasmata (small, yellow deposits of cholesterol underneath the skin, usually around the eyelids) and arcus corneae (fat and cholesterol deposits that appear as a hazy white, grey or blue opaque ring in the outer edges of the cornea). However, they are difficult for humans to use successfully to predict and quantify heart disease and other risks.
Binah.ai, a cutting-edge digital healthcare startup, is proving to be a key problem-solver for one of healthcare’s most important players, insurance companies. Binah.ai has developed a remote health and wellness monitoring platform so effective that some of the top insurance firms in the world – and their 50 million users – have already signed up.
Using an ordinary 45-second selfie video taken on a standard smartphone, Binah.ai’s AI-powered software can measure heart and respiration rates, stress level, oxygen saturation and heart rate variability. It will soon be able to measure blood pressure as well – all based solely on analyzing changes in the reflection of light on facial skin.
The software is already being used by seven large insurance companies, primarily to screen applicants for life insurance.
The German arm of Generali, the Italian insurance giant, is creating a new wellness application that will integrate with the country’s push for digitized medical records.
“Generali Deutschland will launch Generali Vital Signs & Care, a state-of-the-art app available for download on anyone’s smartphone and capable of testing – just by using the camera – important vital parameters as well as enabling users to access assistance and prevention services when needed,” says Giovanni Liverani, CEO of Generali Deutschland. “With this new digital solution, we put advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to the service of our customers in a way that is affordable, fast, and easy.”
Artificial Intelligence is all set to take the medical field to the next level of expertise. Along with giving the convenience to the patients and doctors, it will minimize the health risk and expenses, so even insurance companies will also have a great relief.