Time-lapse technology for embryo culture and selection combined using software are used in Hanoi’s Vinmec Hospital to select good embryos, increasing the likelihood of IVF conception. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – Vietnam’s health care sector is stepping up the use of
artificial intelligence (AI) to improve service quality.
Updates
on the country’s AI research,
development and use were introduced at a seminar held last week, attended
by medical and s.
The
online seminar is part of AI4VN Program organised by the Ministry of Science
and Technology, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, HCM City People’s
Committee, online newspaper VnExpress,
and Sun Bright Art Creative and Event JSC, in co-operation with the
Aus4Innovation programme, Australian Embassy in Vietnam, and Hanoi University
of Science and Technology.
Deputy
Minister of Science and Technology Bui The Duy said the development of AI,
digital technology and big data created “miracles” in various fields.
“In
the health care sector, human’s knowledge and the accumulated knowledge and
experiences of doctors and health professionals are saved thanks to big data.
With algorithms and computing technologies, the data is processed to become
tools assisting doctors and health care workers to provide better health
services,” Duy said.
He
said that Vietnam expected high-tech developers to become more interested in
the medical sector and health professionals to become more engaged in using
digital technologies and big data in their work.
“The
application of AI, digital technologies and digital transformation is very
meaningful to disease prevention, control and treatment, particularly when
COVID-19 is still going on, at least by year-end,” Duy said.
David
Hansen, CEO of the Australian e-Health Research Centre, Australia’s first and
largest e-research hub, said the hub had
been providing an evidence base for the digital transformation of health care.
AI
and digital technology had helped increase health care service quality, he
said, giving examples like machine learning on retinal images to enable
telehealth screening for eye diseases, for examples, glaucoma and diabetic
retinopathy.
Machine
learning can be used to understand the movement patterns of aged Australians
living alone, alerting carers if functional independence declines over time, he
said.
Associate
Professor Nguyen Viet Nhung, Director of the National Lung Hospital and Chairman
of the Vietnam Lung Association, said he had been spending years studying the
use of AI to diagnose tuberculosis and lung disease.
The
science ministry has tasked the hospital with utilising technology to screen
and detect tuberculosis patients with radiography, Nhung said.
Vietnam
aimed to have zero cases of tuberculosis by 2030 and key to achieving that
goal was improving its ability to detect the disease early and deliver
treatment timely, Nhung said, adding that modern technologies could help reduce
70 percent of TB cases within four years.
AI
would help screen with X-rays, predict spatial epidemiology, support patient
compliance with treatment, and support the management of drug side
effects, Nhung said, adding that the final goal is to detect TB cases early and
treat them completely.
AI
would further enhance doctors’ diagnosis ability, he said.
“AI
would help relieve the burden on humans while increasing accuracy and ensuring
no case slips by while using lung radiography,” he said.
According
to Tran Thi Mai Oanh, Director of the Health Strategy and Policy Institute
under the Ministry of Health, in Vietnam, AI is applied in four key fields
– diagnosis, treatment, management of health history data and training.
Vingroup’s
Big Data Institute has been developing an AI application to diagnose lung
diseases with chest X-ray images and breast cancer with breast X-ray images.
The application is being trialled at Military Hospital 108, the Medical
University’s Hospital and Vinmec.
Oanh
said AI could be applied widely, especially to help people record their
own health conditions, reminding people to take medicine and exercise, and
provide early warnings to detect diseases like cardiovascular issues or cancer.
“When
it comes to AI application in the health care sector, its code of ethics is
needed regarding the protection of privacy and personal information like their
health conditions,” Oanh said.
“Another
issue is to ensure safety for patients if robots are used to deliver services
as it’s possible for programmed robots to have errors,” Oanh said, adding
that in such cases, legal regulations on compensation needed to be clarified.
“How
much AI applications can be used to deliver treatment services is also a key
issue that decides the treatment’s effectiveness and responsibility,” Oanh said.
Besides
an improved legal framework, qualified input data would be needed to ensure
reliable and exact diagnosis and treatment, she said.
Prof
and Dr Nguyen Thanh Thuy, deputy chief of the national programme
supporting the research, development and application of technologies in
the Fourth Industrial Revolution, said that three years ago, the Ministry of
Science and Technology launched a master plan on AI development as well as
studies on AI use in the .
“
now has advantages to apply AI in health care including high demand, available
input health data and human resources with people who are committed and
determined to try,” Thuy said./.
Source: VietnamPlus
