Ever had a cold and made a concoction of hot water, lemon, and honey, then, voila, you’re right as rain? This doesn’t mean you are a doctor, but it takes us back to the history of the healthcare industry, which started with home remedies.
Healthcare began as a purely reactionary medical practice in which people learned about the medicinal properties of a plant through trial and error, documented it, and passed it on to others. This meant that disease diagnosis was done purely by observation.
In the 19th century, there was a shift with the advent of laboratory medicine and the use of diagnostic tests to detect diseases; doctors began using microscopic examinations to identify pathogens like bacteria and parasites responsible for various diseases.
The latter half of the 20th century and the early 21st century saw rapid advancements in medical imaging technologies such as ultrasound, Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET).
At the medical camps around the country where the M-PESA Foundation seeks to take healthcare closer to people, a group of people are deploying AI to help triage patients.
With a ring light and a phone, it looks like a setting for shooting a TikTok video.
“It works by reading and scanning your face. The tool can screen the different vitals,” said Aquinas Moriasi, Native Developer at Zuri Health, the provider using the technology.
Using the phone’s camera, the screening tool is able to measure blood pressure, oxygen saturation, breathing rate, stress, haemoglobin, and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) to check glucose levels.
The AI tool, which is also available on Zuri Health’s website, can also be used to screen patients’ mental wellness and identify sexually transmitted diseases.
To screen for mental wellness, the tool uses the power of voice, whereby you read a passage, to help you check your mental health in the comfort of your home. Using the latest advances in machine learning and neuropsychology, they are able to provide AI-powered mental health assessments that identify mental illnesses and their underlying symptoms specifically, accurately and objectively.
For sexual health, the tool uses a chatbot where a user answers some questions, after which they are shown some pictures. Then, depending on their responses, the tool is able to predict the sexually transmitted infection (STI) that they are most likely suffering from.
In conversations about Artificial Intelligence, there is always the question of whether AI will replace humans. For healthcare, the answer is a firm no.
“AI is not a replacement for the traditional doctor measurement. So, for AI, the best that it can do at this point in time is to just give a suggestion. It gives you the most likely, not really the actual thing, because it’s still a new technology,” said Aquinas.
From ancient practices to modern methodologies, the evolution of disease screening reflects humanity’s ongoing quest to detect and prevent illnesses earlier and more effectively.
Watch the video below to learn more about how Zuri Health does AI screening.
