In high-income Asian nations, such as Japan and Singapore, babies born today can expect to live into their ninth decade or beyond. Advances in medical science and technology promise to lengthen our lifespans even further. In fact, Asia's'silver generation' – the cohort of people aged over 60 – is due to triple between 2010 and 2050, reaching close to 1.3 billion people. But as more of us enter our silver years, many will encounter new challenges. Aging-related chronic diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer, are impacting lives across Asia and putting enormous pressure on our already under-resourced healthcare sectors.

Lately, artificial intelligence and machine learning are being intensively adopted by the healthcare industry. In fact, since the beginning of the pandemic, the medical imaging space has been leveraging technologies for the rapid detection of COVID-19 among patients. Even before the unprecedented times set in, algorithms had been developed to detect chest-related conditions, including tuberculosis and lung cancer. However, the capabilities of these technologies and algorithms were all limited to general clinical settings -- at times where there could be chances of multiple abnormalities. For instance, a system meant to detect pneumothorax may not be expected to highlight nodules suggestive of cancer.

Apollo Hospitals confidently asserts that AI in healthcare is more of a need than a luxury. AI solutions and AI-powered machines are the crucial pieces of hospital infrastructure today. Reportedly, around 90% of hospitals, globally, have artificial intelligence strategies in place. Such a surge in AI adoption and integration in healthcare is justified and amplified by the COVID-19 outbreak. Sean Lane, the CEO of Olive has noted that it is incredibly promising to witness the growth of AI adoption in healthcare.

Hyderabad, Sep 8: Dr Mithin Aachi, Sr Ortho & Joint Replacement Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals, Secunderabad on Sunday said that'Robot Arm' assisted navigated knee replacement and Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning, definitely would dominate in future for patient care, there would be an exponential increase in their usage in the years to come. Talking to media on the occasion of 5th edition of Arthroplasty Arthrocopy Summit, organized by Apollo Hospitals under the aegis of Telangana Orthopaedic Surgeon's Association (TOSA) and Twin Cities Orthopaedic Society (TCOS), here, Dr Aachi along with Dr N Somashekar Reddy, Sr Ortho & Joint Replacement Surgeon, Apollo Hospitals said that a Robot doesn't do surgery by itself but it helps the surgeon plan, execute and achieve a better surgical result than he (doctor) would have by human effort alone. Hence Robot surgery in less pain, better outcomes and longer survival rates of joint replacement surgery, he said. Explaining further on Robot surgery, Dr Aachi said usually for a Robot assisted surgery patient undergoes CT scan of the knee to correctly update the surgeon about the deformity and the thickness of bone cuts required and the implant sizes to be placed. This is enhanced planning which gives the surgeon an idea of the type of bone cuts required and the size of implants which will correctly match that patient on an individual level.

China, the world's biggest agricultural producer, is leading the race when it comes to empowering farmers with Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven technologies. The aim is clear: To help the community digitally record information to cut costs and increase yields -- with just a smartphone in their hands as AI leveraged Cloud computing to make sense of the data for farmers. India has now embarked on a journey to bring AI sensors into the fields. For Anant Maheshwari, the company's India President, Microsoft has begun empowering small-holder farmers in India to increase their income through higher crop yield and greater price control. "We are working with farmers, state governments, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to create an ecosystem for AI into farming," Maheshwari told IANS.

The aim is clear: To help the community digitally record information to cut costs and increase yields -- with just a smartphone in their hands as AI leveraged Cloud computing to make sense of the data for farmers. India has now embarked on a journey to bring AI sensors into the fields. For Anant Maheshwari, the company's India President, Microsoft has begun empowering small-holder farmers in India to increase their income through higher crop yield and greater price control. "We are working with farmers, state governments, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to create an ecosystem for AI into farming," Maheshwari told IANS. In some villages in Telangana, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, farmers are receiving automated voice calls that tell them whether their cotton crops are at risk of a pest attack, based on weather conditions and crop stage.

This article was originally posted on LinkedIn. During my regular travel across the Asia region, a hotly-debated topic among business leaders, government policymakers, academics and industry experts is the potential impact that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will have on society. Understandably, some commentators take a cautious view when it comes to AI development, sometimes painting a grim, dystopian future where large swathes of the population are rendered jobless, access to AI is not evenly distributed among citizens and privacy and civil liberties are increasingly under threat from AI's insatiable need for data. There is no denying that AI will present a new set of societal challenges that will need to be navigated thoughtfully and carefully and, in particular, it will be critical for all organizations to build trust in AI among their customers and stakeholders. However, these concerns should not overshadow the enormous potential that AI offers society.

Preventative medicine is all the rage. It can cut long-term healthcare costs, help patients avoid painful procedures, and overall drives longer, better quality lives. So when does preventative medicine make the move from yearly checkups and traditional tests like mammograms and colonoscopies to something more high tech? We may be standing at that turning point right now. Several new AI tools are currently being introduced that have the potential to detect future heart attack risks or even prioritize and direct emergency calls based on the likelihood the patient is having a cardiac event.

New Delhi: Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are witnessing increasing adoption in the Indian healthcare setting. With a surge in non-communicable diseases and the increasing number of aging population in the country, the overall burden of disease management has been increasing year-on-year and to manage that, the government, the healthcare professionals and the healthcare institutions are looking for innovative ways. Studies have shown that deep learning algorithms have given better insights to clinicians in predicting prognosis and future events in patients. Also, advanced digital technologies like AI and ML can help in prevention as well as early detection of diseases by capturing and analysing various vitals of patients. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to access the learning and data from hundreds of thousands of patient cases.

Microsoft today said it will expand its footprint in India's healthcare sector by bringing in artificial intelligence for cardiology. "One of the things you immediately find out is that there's tremendous possibilities in extracting insights from how health data lead to better outcomes in what doctors do," Dr. Peter Lee, corporate vice president, AI & Research, at Microsoft told PTI after he announced the initiative in Las Vegas on the sidelines of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference and exhibition. Microsoft has partnered with Apollo Hospital to create an AI-focused network in cardiology. It has also announced the expansion of the Microsoft Intelligent Network for eyecare. The Apollo partnership, he said, will work to develop and deploy new machine learning models to predict patient risk for heart disease and assists doctors on treatment plans.