Dr. Devin Singh: AI Can Help Save Lives in Hospitals

The Walrus
4 Jul 202307:07

TLDRDr. Devin, an emergency doctor and computer scientist, shares a poignant story highlighting the preventable death of a patient due to long wait times. He emphasizes the potential of using AI to unlock data from electronic health records to predict medical needs, such as identifying appendicitis in children. He discusses a clinical trial at SickKids hospital where AI predicts the need for tests, aiming to reduce wait times and improve equity in healthcare. Devin also addresses the challenges of ensuring the AI model's fairness and the importance of informed consent in different languages and cultural contexts.

Takeaways

  • 👨‍⚕️ Devin is an emergency doctor and computer scientist focused on health AI at Sick Kids Hospital.
  • 🚨 A personal experience with a patient's preventable death motivated Devin to explore AI solutions in healthcare.
  • 🧠 The potential of electronic health record systems to prevent tragedies was recognized by Devin.
  • 📈 A specific use case at Sick Kids involves using AI to predict the need for ultrasounds in children with abdominal pain.
  • 🚀 The AI model has been developed and is currently in a silent trial phase for safety and reliability.
  • 📊 Equity is a major concern, ensuring the AI model works well for diverse populations including different ethnicities, ages, and genders.
  • 🌐 Lack of ethnicity data in Canadian healthcare systems presents a challenge for auditing AI models for bias.
  • 🤖 Hero AI, co-founded by Devin, aims to bring AI models from academia to practical application at the patient's bedside.
  • 📱 The goal is to create applications that empower patients with information and choice in their care.
  • 🌐 Cultural nuances and language barriers must be considered for true informed consent in AI interactions.
  • 🇨🇦 Devin emphasizes the importance of Canadian values in developing AI that respects cultural diversity and ensures equitable healthcare.

Q & A

  • What is Devin's profession and expertise?

    -Devin is an emergency doctor at Sick Kids Hospital and a computer scientist specializing in health AI.

  • What tragic event motivated Devin to explore the potential of electronic health records?

    -The preventable death of a patient due to prolonged waiting times in the healthcare system motivated Devin to explore the use of electronic health records.

  • What is the specific use case Devin and his team are working on at Sick Kids?

    -They are working on a use case that involves using AI to predict the need for specific tests, such as an ultrasound for suspected appendicitis, at triage, thereby reducing waiting times.

  • How does Devin's team plan to address the issue of safety in deploying their AI model?

    -They are conducting a silent trial where the model runs live in the background without acting on the results to ensure safety, reliability, and accuracy before full deployment.

  • What does Devin mean by 'Equity' in the context of AI models?

    -Equity refers to the AI model's ability to perform well for all individuals, regardless of their language, ethnicity, age, or gender, ensuring that the technology is inclusive and does not discriminate.

  • Why can't Devin deploy the AI models into practice immediately?

    -Devin cannot deploy the models because there is insufficient ethnicity data in Canadian healthcare systems to audit and ensure that the models are equitable and free from bias.

  • What is HERO AI, and what is Devin's role in it?

    -HERO AI is a health tech company co-founded by Devin, which aims to bring powerful AI models from an academic setting to practical use at the patient's bedside through applications and platforms.

  • What challenge does Devin face in obtaining informed consent from patients for using AI technologies?

    -The challenge lies in presenting information to patients and their families in a way that genuinely captures informed consent, considering different languages and cultural nuances.

  • How does Devin envision AI improving patient care?

    -Devin envisions AI empowering patients by providing them with alerts and choices about their care, reducing waiting times, and democratizing the use of technology in healthcare.

  • What is Devin's call to action for the AI community in Canada?

    -Devin calls for the AI community in Canada to uphold Canadian values of cultural diversity and ensure that AI standards in the country reflect these values, ultimately aiming to transform care and save lives together.

Outlines

00:00

👨‍⚕️ Introduction and Personal Experience

The speaker, Devin, introduces himself as an emergency doctor and computer scientist in health AI. He shares a personal story of a patient's preventable death due to prolonged waiting times, which ignited his passion for utilizing electronic health record data to improve healthcare outcomes. Devin emphasizes the importance of safety and equity in AI applications in healthcare and introduces a specific use case being prepared for clinical trial at SickKids hospital.

05:00

🚀 Advancing Healthcare with AI: The Hero AI Platform

Devin discusses the development of a clinical automation platform by Hero AI, a health tech company he co-founded. The platform aims to empower patients by providing them with alerts that enable them to make informed decisions about their care, reducing waiting times. He highlights the challenges of obtaining informed consent and the need for AI to respect cultural nuances and communication styles of human healthcare providers. Devin calls for Canadian AI standards that reflect the country's cultural mosaic to ensure safe and equitable healthcare innovations.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Emergency Doctor

An emergency doctor is a medical professional who specializes in the immediate decision-making and action necessary to prevent and treat acute illnesses or injuries that present at emergency departments. In the script, Devin, the speaker, is an emergency doctor at Sick Kids Hospital, which sets the context for his expertise and the challenges he faces in the healthcare system.

💡Health AI

Health AI refers to the application of artificial intelligence in the healthcare sector to enhance patient care, streamline operations, and improve overall health outcomes. Devin is also a computer scientist in health AI, indicating his dual role in both direct patient care and the development of technology to improve healthcare.

💡Electronic Health Record (EHR)

An electronic health record, or EHR, is a digital version of a patient's paper chart and is a repository for all of a patient's medical history, diagnoses, medications, treatment plans, immunization dates, allergies, radiology images, and laboratory test results. Devin discusses the potential of unlocking data in EHRs to prevent cases like the patient's death from occurring.

💡Clinical Trial

A clinical trial is a research study in which one or more human subjects are prospectively assigned to one or more interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes. Devin's talk revolves around preparing for a clinical trial to test the use of AI in predicting the need for certain medical tests, specifically in cases of appendicitis.

💡Appendicitis

Appendicitis is an inflammation of the appendix, a small tube-like structure attached to the large intestine. It is a common and potentially serious medical condition that often requires emergency surgery. In the script, Devin uses appendicitis as an example of a condition where AI could help expedite diagnosis and treatment, reducing wait times in the emergency department.

💡Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial intelligence refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. In the context of the script, AI is being developed and tested to assist in healthcare decision-making, specifically in predicting medical conditions and streamlining the process of care in emergency situations.

💡Equity

Equity in the context of healthcare refers to the fair and just provision of services, where the needs of all individuals are met without bias or discrimination. Devin emphasizes the need for equity assessments to ensure that AI models do not disadvantage certain groups based on ethnicity, age, gender, or language.

💡Bias

Bias in AI refers to the tendency of an AI system to produce results that are unfairly skewed or discriminatory towards certain groups of people. Devin discusses the need to assess for bias in AI models to ensure they are equitable and do not perpetuate existing health disparities.

💡Informed Consent

Informed consent is a process in which a patient is provided with all the necessary information about a medical procedure or treatment, including its risks and benefits, to make a knowledgeable decision about whether to proceed. Devin discusses the challenge of obtaining truly informed consent in the context of AI applications, especially when considering cultural nuances and language barriers.

💡Health Tech

Health tech, short for healthcare technology, refers to the use of technology to improve healthcare delivery, enhance patient outcomes, and streamline health information management. Devin co-founded a health tech company called Hero AI, which aims to bring powerful AI models from an academic setting to practical applications at the patient's bedside.

💡Cultural Mosaic

A cultural mosaic refers to a society made up of diverse cultures living together and contributing to a shared cultural identity. Devin mentions Canadian values of a cultural mosaic, emphasizing the importance of reflecting this diversity in the development and application of AI technologies to ensure they are inclusive and equitable.

Highlights

Devin, an emergency doctor and computer scientist, shares a personal story of a preventable patient death due to long wait times.

The motivation to unlock data from electronic health record systems to prevent similar tragic cases.

A real-life use case at SickKids hospital is introduced, focusing on reducing wait times for necessary tests.

The use case involves using AI to predict the need for an ultrasound test in children with abdominal pain, potentially indicating appendicitis.

A clinical trial is underway to test the AI model's effectiveness and safety in a live environment without acting on the results yet.

Equity is a major concern, ensuring the AI model works well for diverse populations regardless of language, ethnicity, age, or gender.

Lack of ethnicity data in Canadian healthcare systems poses a challenge for auditing the AI model for potential biases.

Devin is the co-founder and CEO of health tech company hero AI, aiming to bring powerful AI models from academia to practical bedside applications.

Hero AI has created one of the world's most agile clinical automation platforms, recently deployed at SickKids hospital.

The importance of informed consent and how AI technologies should communicate effectively with patients in a culturally sensitive manner.

The need for AI to respect the nuanced communication of human healthcare providers to truly unlock the technology's potential.

Canadian values of cultural mosaic and the responsibility to uphold high standards of AI to ensure technology translates into improved care and saved lives.

The talk concludes with a call to action for the AI community to embrace Canadian values and work together to transform care and save lives.

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