Technology can save patients even before they reach hospitals

Dubai - The VR camera will be used by a medical professional in the hospital to assess the condition of the patient in the ambulance.

Technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR), will soon have a critical role to play in emergency response situations, where every minute saved in diagnosing and planning a course of action improves the chances of the patient's survival, experts at the Gitex Technology Week 2019 have said.
Speaking to Khaleej Times at the event, Ali Bahlooq, general manager  at Esharah Etisalat Security Solutions, highlighted how VR can be installed in ambulances to save on valuable time in preparing for the patient's treatment at the hospital.
The VR camera, he explained, will be used by a medical professional in the hospital to assess the condition of the patient in the ambulance.
This way, the patient's vitals can be monitored remotely and a diagnosis reached before the patient arrives.
"For example, if a person is in a critical state and requires surgery immediately, then the doctor can have the operating room ready before the patient even arrives," Bahlooq said.
"This saves valuable time and will increase the chances of a patient surviving and making a recovery."
He added that AI can also be used to assess the severity of the patient's condition.
"We can check how much a person has bled from a wound and then mark the situation as either a high priority or a low risk and then act accordingly."
Such technologies, Bahlooq said, will be a common feature in smart cities.
Marwan bin Dalmook, SVP of ICT solutions and smart city operations at du, explained how there are a lot of challenges that AI can help solve in the medical industry.
"We know that medical centres in the UAE have to deal with a large volume of patients that come for tuberculosis (TB) screening," he said.
"Professionals need a minimum of 45 minutes to conduct it. With AI, we can reach a diagnosis in mere minutes." He explained that in the initial adoption stages, hospitals will still require a trained medical professional to go through the diagnosis, but the more you train an AI, the more accurate it gets.
Bots can analyse your diabetes tests
Marwan bin Dalmook, SVP of ICT solutions and smart city operations at du, spoke about how AI can be used to help plan treatments for patients that are diabetic.
"The GCC region has a large volume of people that are at risk of diabetes. For this, there is a standard blood test that checks your insulin levels and then recommends a treatment. We also know that people that are diabetic slowly begin to lose their eyesight over time. AI can help to monitor the results of an eye scan and then help to set up a plan that allows patients to better treat themselves.
"An AI can say if the patient needs immediate attention by reading through their scans. You will still need doctors, but they will be able to better prioritise their cases," he explained.
New smart app can detect genetic diseases in newborns
It now just takes a scan to detect genetic diseases or defects in newborns - no more blood tests or other specialised exams - thanks to a new artificial intelligence (AI) project developed by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (Mohap).
Called M-Gene, the new technology was revealed at the Gitex Technology Week in Dubai.
"The M-Gene project provides a smart tool that features a diagnostic face reading for the newborn. Immediate results are also shown," explained Dr Youssif Al Serkal, assistant undersecretary for the ministry's hospitals sector.
The M-Gene application can easily detect genetic diseases, enabling the doctor to examine the baby immediately after birth, he added.
Mohap - in collaboration with the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Paediatric Surgical Innovation at the National Centre in Washington, DC, US - is among the first in the world to implement the technology and conduct studies on it.
Thousands of newborns and families have already benefitted from this technology, which is currently available at four hospitals of Mohap.
The project will be run in more hospitals for women and children in the upcoming stage.
Healthcare at your fingertips
The Dubai Health Authority launched a range of innovative solutions to make its services more accessible to everyone.
Here are a few things you can now do online:
1-Book medical appointments in any government and private health facility in the emirate
Just visit www.DubaiHealthBooking.com or download the DubaiHealthBooking.com app
2-Get help for anxiety, depression
A new application called Mindspire aims to help individuals suffering from depression or those who would like to have a preliminary screening of their mental health. Analysis is done through a combination of non-intrusive analysis, as well as very few active inputs from the user. People found with milder cases of depression would receive recommendations, while those on the higher end of the spectrum are encouraged to contact a professional.
3-Apply for overseas treatment
Through the new DHA programme called Shefaa, you no longer have to go to DHA facilities to apply for overseas treatments. All procedures have been digitised and integrated with GRP, IDAM and FAHR.
4-Track your fitness file, find blood donation drives
The DHA's all-in-one smart application (called 'DHA') integrates many of the authority's existing applications as sub-services - from the Dammi app that allows you to find a schedule and venue for blood donations to the Salem smart system that enables you to check your medical files
How AI will redefine healthcare
1-Doctors will be able to prepare and monitor a patient's condition while he/she is still in the ambulance
2-AI can do screenings in minutes and help set up treatment plans
3-Doctors and health professionals will be able to focus on other cases because AI can take care of the rest
rohma@khaleejtimes.com