New guidelines for clinical trials involving AI promises to make the use of AI in healthcare safer for both patients and healthcare workers. Possible applications of AI in healthcare; more reasons to have clear guidelines in clinical trials. (Image credit: igniteoutsourcing)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is arguably the most important technology right now; possibilities are forever growing for all aspects of our lives, especially in health. The concept of AI is essentially that of teaching machines to learn about their environments in order to function by themselves without constant cueing. Giving so much power to machines in healthcare where people’s lives are at stake raises the question of safety. This concern is heightened by the hyped-up results of clinical trials involving the use of AI. But the only way to sort out the accurate information from the hoax is to establish a set of rules and criteria that will define what constitutes a valid and reliable clinical trial.
Researchers from various countries came together to prepare the guidelines for proper clinical trials involving AI. Although guidelines for regular clinical trials exist already, the introduction of a new technique always begs for monitoring. So, in order for healthcare workers to safely use AI in their practices and for the safety of patients, it is imperative to ensure that the techniques do what they say they do. The news guidelines can be found in the BMJ, Nature Medicine, and Lancet Digital Health and are said to be extensions of the guidelines regarding drugs and diagnostic tests as well as other interventions, in a way that is suitable for AI-involved procedures. The guidelines will orient researchers in ways to design, deliver and report on clinical trials involving AI.
To prove their point, Prof. Alastair, an expert in the use of AI in healthcare member of the team that put together the guidelines, analyzed 20,000 studies with claims about the benefits of AI in healthcare and discovered that only 1% of those studies presented authentic results. The rest of the studies only embellished their results using the best possible outcomes. With the new guidelines, clinicians will be forced to reveal the procedures that led them to consider the AI technique they are recommending as the best possible option. The new guidelines will also ensure that all demographics will be taken into consideration for all clinical trials in order for an AI system to be deemed safe.
With the NHS planning to invest a third of its £140 million-budget in the development of wearable AI devices like a wearable ECG monitor to diagnose heart malfunctions, the news of the new standards is more than welcome.
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