How Artificial Intelligence Is Saving Lives

Colin’s Note: One of the most interesting – and most positive – aspects of advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) is the technology’s impact in healthcare…

I’ve written you before in these pages about how AI is doing this… and this… and even this…

Now, this life-changing tech is saving the lives of folks with sepsis… a complication that can arise when the body has an extreme reaction to an infection. Without prompt attention, it can lead to organ failure. If left untreated long enough, it’s fatal… which makes early detection vital.

And that’s where the new AI out of the University of California San Diego School of Medicine comes into play. The AI – called COMPOSER – pores over patient medical histories and vital stats to identify high-risk patients… and can even use real-time data to predict the earliest signs of sepsis.

You can hear the details in today’s video by clicking below… Or you can read all about it in the transcript.

Hello subscribers and welcome back to The Bleeding Edge.

Today, we’re looking into a groundbreaking study from UC San Diego that’s bringing hope against the battle of sepsis.

If you didn’t already know, sepsis is a deadly response to infection. It causes widespread inflammation and often organ failure. I didn’t know this, but it claims around 350,000 lives annually here in the United States alone.

But there’s one key to combating this threat. It’s a common one when it relates to disease… and that’s early detection. But the challenging thing is that diagnosing sepsis early can be tough.

I asked my wife about this, who’s worked on the floor of hospitals as a nurse. She said symptoms can often mimic other conditions, making it a race against time for medical professionals.

Enter COMPOSER. That’s UC San Diego’s innovative new AI system. It’s not only a game changer for sepsis… but it’s the blueprint for how AI will be used in the medical field in the future.

The computer system is trained on over 100,000 digital records of sepsis patients. In the hospital setting, every hour, COMPOSER reviews incoming electronic health records from the patients.

It scrutinizes medications, vital stats, and more. It’s designed to identify patients in the early stages of sepsis, particularly in those hard-to-detect cases where symptoms are unclear to doctors and nurses.

And as we’ve talked about with AI since the beginning, this isn’t about replacing doctors or nurses. Instead, COMPOSER acts as a support tool, prompting the healthcare providers to take a second look at the high-risk patients.

 The study involved over 6,000 emergency patients in the San Diego area. With COMPOSER, the sepsis mortality rate dropped to 9.5%, saving an estimated 22 lives.

And the university isn’t stopping there. They’re expanding COMPOSER’s use, exploring wearable sensors for real-time data, and even integrating large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT for deeper insights.

This is just the beginning for this type of medical treatment. Earlier this month, I met with a founder who’s treating the most difficult cancer patients. He’s using a similar method to this.

Soon, monitoring patients in real-time in a hospital setting using AI will be the norm. Groundbreaking drug discoveries will come from the compiling of large data sets from patients.

Yes, AI will have some challenges going forward. People will use AI for nefarious purposes. Criminals are going to use it too. Politicians are going to use words like “existential threat to democracy” to describe AI.

But the reality is that AI is already saving lives. And if it’s me or anyone I love, including you, facing a battle with sepsis, I’m glad AI will be there to help.

AI isn’t just a buzzword… or an investment thesis… or a way to make money in the stock market. It’s a lifesaver.

This UC San Diego study is a glimpse into the future where technology and healthcare work hand in hand to save lives.

What do you think about this? What do you think about COMPOSER and the role of AI in medicine? Are you feeling more or less worried about the dangers of AI than, say, a few months ago?

Let me know what you think at feedback@brownstoneresearch.com. I’d love to hear from you. My name’s Colin Tedards and that was today’s newsletter. Hopefully, you guys have a wonderful day and I’ll see you again soon.

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