IBM’s Watson Can Now Be Used To Diagnose Heart Disease

Because we are human, we aren’t perfect which means that sometimes in the medical profession, humans can overlook certain signs that could be a symptom of a larger problem. However thankfully with the advancement of AI and technology, perhaps missing out on signs of heart disease might be a thing of the past.

IBM has recently announced that they will be introducing a new feature to its Watson AI, where it will now be able to diagnose heart disease. This is made possible thanks to Watson poring through a ton of medical data and images such as ultrasounds and X-Rays. The plan is to use it to figure out which patient might need follow-up care for aortic stenosis (AS).

According to Jaime Murillo, a cardiology specialist at Sentara Healthcare, AS is a heart condition that is one of the more difficult conditions for cardiologists to diagnose. “If you have an ultrasound image of a heart, the quality [of care] could be affected by how good the technology is and also by variations in how different physicians may interpret those images. With Watson, we’re looking at standardizing and improving accuracy of diagnostic interpretations that result in better patient care and more accuracy.”

That being said, IBM is looking beyond heart disease as they believe that Watson could be just as instrumental when it comes to breast cancer as well as pulmonary and brain disease, and ocular diseases such as that of diabetic retinopathy.

Tyler Lee
Categories: Medical
Tags: AI (Artificial Intelligence), Health, ibm, watson