A new artificial intelligence machine learning model is capable of accurately diagnosing certain illnesses nearly every time by simply looking at a patient's tongue. The novel technology, while state-of-the-art, draws its inspiration from medical approaches utilized by humans for over 2,000 years. When it comes to diagnosing ailments, traditional Chinese medicine and other practices often turn to the tongue for clues. Based on its color, shape, and thickness, the muscle can reveal a number of possible health issues--from cancer, to diabetes, to even asthma and gastrointestinal issues. Now, after more than two millennia of peering into patient mouths for answers, doctors may soon receive a second opinion from artificial eyes powered by machine learning.

Yael Bensoussan, MD, is part of the USF Health's department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. She's leading an effort to collect voice data that can be used to diagnose illnesses. Yael Bensoussan, MD, is part of the USF Health's department of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery. She's leading an effort to collect voice data that can be used to diagnose illnesses. Voices offer lots of information.

Intensive care units across the country are increasingly implementing artificial intelligence and machine learning technology to help sort through patients' medical data and predict and diagnose illnesses, NBC reports. "Critical care is essentially this interface between humans and technology," said Peter Laussen, chief of critical care medicine at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, according to the report. "The amount of data streaming from the patient in the ICU is huge." More articles on artificial intelligence: UnityPoint Health invests $1M in AI for lung analysis Cincinnati Children's AI system reduces patient screening time by 34% Children's National Health to apply AI to study ICU transitions