AI is already part of medical practice today.
In this video, you’ll discover how doctors and researchers use AI to tackle three very different medical challenges:
- Ophthalmology: analysing medical images more quickly and identifying patients who need urgent care.
- Neurology: modelling complex brain processes and gaining new insights into multiple sclerosis.
- Surgery: interpreting medical images and laboratory results more effectively and using AI to support surgical procedures.
AI in ophthalmology: identifying who needs care sooner
Sorcha NÃdhubhghaill | Head of Ophthalmology at UZ Brussel and Professor of Ophthalmology at VUB
Can AI help prevent patients from going blind?
AI can help identify patients at risk of severe vision loss sooner. High-resolution images of the retina can be analysed using AI, helping doctors determine which patients need to be examined and treated quickly.
How can AI help with long waiting lists?
When many patients are waiting for care, it is important to quickly identify who urgently needs to see an ophthalmologist. AI can analyse large volumes of medical images and data and help determine which patients should be seen first.
Will AI replace ophthalmologists?
According to Sorcha NÃdhubhghaill, it will not. Instead, AI can help doctors identify patients who need their care most and direct them to the right treatment more quickly.
AI and multiple sclerosis: understanding the complexity of the brain
Guy Nagels | Head of the Neurology Department at UZ Brussel
How is AI used in neurology?
In neurology, AI is used to gain new insights into conditions such as multiple sclerosis. These insights can help doctors better understand and treat patients.
Why is AI useful for brain research?
Our brains consist of vast networks of cells and connections that exchange information. AI can help model these complex processes in ways that researchers and doctors can interpret.
What can AI do that humans find difficult?
Modelling complex processes in the brain requires enormous amounts of computation. AI can perform these complex calculations and translate them into models that people can understand and use.
Is AI a threat or an opportunity for patients?
Guy Nagels sees AI primarily as an opportunity. Some applications directly support doctors in their work with patients. Others process large amounts of data and generate new insights that can later be applied in clinical practice.
Discover how VUB researchers are using AI in multiple sclerosis research
AI in pancreatic cancer and surgery: seeing more and operating more safely
Nouredin Messaoudi | Translational Oncology Research Centre and Professor of Surgery at VUB
How can AI be used in pancreatic cancer care?
AI can be used at different stages of pancreatic cancer. It can help uncover additional information when making a diagnosis and when analysing medical images and laboratory results.
What additional information can AI extract from a CT scan?
A CT scan contains a vast amount of data. AI can help analyse this information in greater depth and identify features that may, for example, reveal more about a tumour.
How is AI already being used during surgery?
During surgery, AI can help make tumours more visible or guide a camera. AI systems can also detect certain warning signs, for example before a patient’s blood pressure drops significantly.
Can AI make surgery safer?
AI can provide additional information and warnings during a procedure. This can help surgeons identify certain risks sooner and perform surgery more safely. The technology supports the surgeon rather than taking over their role.
Will AI replace surgeons?
According to Nouredin Messaoudi, AI will not simply replace surgeons. Instead, he expects surgeons who use AI to have an advantage over those who do not.