Right now, we only have glimpses of what healthcare will be like in an AI future, but there’s little doubt the changes will be huge.
“AI has the potential to be profoundly transformative for healthcare,” says Saeed Hassanpour, PhD, a biomedical computer scientist and the inaugural director of the newly created Dartmouth Center for Precision Health and Artificial Intelligence (CPHAI).
“AI can revolutionize patient care by making it more predictive, preventive, and personalized. It can also increase efficiency and access in healthcare delivery, improve diagnostic accuracy, optimize treatment plans, enhance patient monitoring, and streamline administrative tasks,” he explains.
How AI will transform healthcare
Hassanpour says that AI analyses of large datasets of biomedical information will perform a vital role in the new healthcare landscape. Information will be gathered through increasingly affordable and advanced laboratory methods, such as genomic sequencing, molecular testing, and imaging techniques, as well as wearable monitoring devices.
“AI can uncover patterns that humans might miss, leading to earlier detection of diseases and better outcomes. AI can also help in prevention by identifying risk factors, allowing for timely interventions before conditions develop, thus contributing to a healthier population,” he says.
Innovation that’s collaborative, ethical, and integrative
The mission of CPHAI is to facilitate those advances with novel, interdisciplinary research, education, and practical tool development while ensuring the ethical use of AI.
“Ultimately,” Hassanpour says, “we aim to position Dartmouth and Dartmouth Health as a pioneering force and global leaders in AI-driven healthcare innovation and in demonstrating how AI can be ethically and effectively integrated into healthcare. I hope it will be a model for other institutions to follow.”
Based on the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center campus, CPHAI was established in June 2023 with initial funding of $2 million from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine and Dartmouth Cancer Center
Going forward, Dartmouth Health will partner with the Center in collaborative research, clinical trials, and the implementation of AI tools in clinical practice.
“Our team at CPHAI,” Hassanpour says, “includes clinical associate directors from various clinical departments at Dartmouth Health, bringing diverse expertise to champion our objectives in clinical settings. Our collaborators come from a wide variety of disciplines and departments, and we also benefit from a diverse advisory board that includes major leaders and stakeholders from Dartmouth Health.”
In addition, the Dartmouth Health IT Department and Dartmouth Research Computing are working together to build an AI-ready and secure data processing platform.
“This partnership ensures that the AI solutions we develop are clinically relevant and can be rapidly translated into patient care, benefiting both the local community and the broader healthcare field,” Hassanpour says.
Clinicians and AI scientists will gather regularly for symposiums and seminars. “These meetings and interactions provide a platform for clinicians to share their practical challenges and insights, while AI scientists propose technological solutions,” Hassanpour says. “This synergy will ensure that our research is grounded in real-world clinical needs, fostering innovation that directly benefits patient care.”
On leveraging AI’s power to transform
While the primary focus is on interdisciplinary research in AI and machine learning to harness the power of biomedical data, Hassanpour says CPHAI plans to have a significant impact on many aspects of healthcare.
“The work of the Center is expected to yield several transformative improvements in healthcare,” he says. “By leveraging advanced AI algorithms, we can significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy, leading to earlier and more precise disease detection. Our AI-driven tools will enable highly personalized treatment plans, optimizing therapeutic outcomes for individual patients.”
He adds that integrating AI tools into clinical workflows also can reduce medical errors, streamline administrative tasks, reduce inefficiencies and lower healthcare costs, allowing resources to be allocated more effectively to patient care.
In order to pursue FDA approval for tools that are developed, CPHAI also will work in collaboration with the Dartmouth Health Clinical Trials Office to evaluate AI algorithms in clinical trials, facilitating their translation into practice.
On being equitable and free from biases
Ensuring that the technologies developed are equitable and free from biases is a major consideration for CPHAI in its effort to promote diversity and foster a more accessible and inclusive healthcare environment.
“The major ethical and societal considerations include not only ensuring fairness and mitigating bias in AI models, but protecting patient privacy and data security, and promoting equitable access to AI technologies,” Hassanpour says. “We also engage diverse stakeholders, including patients and clinicians, in this process to ensure that AI benefits all segments of society.”
Another advantage—with the market for AI in healthcare expected to grow from just under $5 billion in 2020 to more than $45 billion in 2026, the work of CPHAI will help accommodate that growth by developing a local workforce trained in AI. Among the many initiatives is a Dartmouth graduate program that includes machine learning courses and hands-on research opportunities.
“By fostering local talent, we enhance the pool of skilled individuals who can be recruited by various healthcare teams, departments and programs to develop advanced AI technologies. This also supports the startup ecosystem in the Upper Valley, driving innovations and improving healthcare delivery in the region.” That, he adds, will make the region an attractive destination for technology and healthcare companies.
What the future holds
“The future of AI in healthcare is incredibly promising,” Hassanpour says, “as it has the potential to transform every aspect of patient care, from diagnosis and treatment to prevention and personalized medicine, ultimately leading to better health outcomes for all.”
This article first ran under the title of “The Future of Healthcare: The Impact of AI” in the June 2024 Issue of Connections Magazine and has been modified for the web.