Generative AI could serve as a promising tool to assist medical professionals

In a recent experiment published in JAMAphysician researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) tested the ability of one well-known, publicly available chatbot to make accurate diagnoses in difficult medical cases.

The research team found that Chat-GPT 4, a generative AI, selected the correct diagnosis as the top diagnosis almost 40% of the time, and in two-thirds of the difficult cases the correct diagnosis was added to the list of potential diagnoses. was found to provide

Generative AI refers to a type of artificial intelligence that uses trained patterns and information to create new content, rather than simply processing and analyzing existing data. Some of the best-known examples of generative AI are so-called chatbots. It uses a field of artificial intelligence called natural language processing (NLP) that enables computers to understand, interpret, and generate human-like language.

Generative AI chatbots are powerful tools that are revolutionizing creative industries, education, customer service, and more. However, little is known about its potential performance in clinical settings, such as complex diagnostic reasoning.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence have given rise to generative AI models capable of detailed, text-based responses that score well on standardized health exams. We wanted to know if such a generative model could “think” like a doctor, so we asked it to solve standardized complex diagnostic cases used for educational purposes.it really worked out. ”

Adam Rodman, M.D., MPH, Co-Director of Innovation, BIDMC Media and Educational Delivery Initiative, Lecturer in Medicine, Harvard Medical School

To assess the chatbot’s diagnostic skills, Rodman and colleagues used clinicopathological case conferences (CPCs). This is a series of complex and challenging patient cases with relevant clinical and laboratory data, imaging studies, and histopathological findings published in 2016. New England Journal of Medicine For educational purposes.

Of 70 CPC cases evaluated, artificial intelligence accurately matched the final CPC diagnosis in 27 (39%) cases. In 64 percent of cases, the definitive CPC diagnosis was included in the AI’s differential statement (a list of conditions that could explain the patient’s symptoms, medical history, clinical findings, laboratory or imaging findings) .

“Chatbots cannot replace the expertise and knowledge of trained medical professionals, but generative AI has a promising potential to supplement human cognition in diagnostics,” said BIDMC Hospitalist Harvard. said lead author Zahir Khanzi, M.D., Ph.D., MPH, assistant professor of medicine at the university. Medical school. “It has the potential to help physicians understand complex medical data and broaden and refine their diagnostic thinking. Although privacy issues need to be resolved, these are interesting findings for the future of diagnostics and patient care.”

“Our study adds to the growing body of literature demonstrating the promising capabilities of AI technology,” said co-author Byron Crowe, M.D., Ph.D., BIDMC internist and Harvard Medical School medical lecturer. . “Further research will help us better understand how these new AI models will transform healthcare delivery.”

This work is not separately funded or sponsored. Kanjee reports from Wolters Kluwer editorial book royalties and paid advisory board membership for medical education products not related to artificial intelligence, and her CME honoraria provided by Oakstone Publishing. Crowe reports her employment with Solera Health outside of her submitted work. Rodman reports no conflicts of interest.