Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Health is looking to expand the use of AI to improve early diagnosis of stroke, cancer, and other diseases with significant impact. Officials say the rollout is aimed at reducing mortality, improving diagnostic accuracy and reducing the burden on health care workers.
The ministry said it has compiled a list of priority AI initiatives to help detect socially significant diseases early and support clinical decision-making. Areas of interest include stroke, lung cancer, breast cancer, and dental diagnosis using machine learning algorithms to analyze medical images. Several platforms are already operational and are being more widely integrated into national health systems.
Some of the AI platforms currently in use include:
- Cerebra – Deployed in nine Category II and III stroke centers across five regions, can identify stroke symptoms within three minutes.
- WD software – It is used in 190 healthcare facilities in 10 regions to support early detection of cancer and pneumonia.
- identity – 65 dental clinics and 3 medical universities have adopted it for analyzing X-ray images.
- ALIMA – an AI-based medical assistant currently working in over 700 clinics across the country.
The ALIMA platform processes patient complaints, medical records, and images to suggest potential diagnoses, recommend tests, and suggest treatment plans that align with clinical protocols.
These AI efforts rely on computing resources provided by the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development, including eight graphics processors, and are supported through API-based integrations.
In the future, the Ministry of Health plans to introduce AI tools in the evaluation of drugs and medical devices and launch a project for early detection of chronic heart failure using a smart ECG system. This technology enables remote interpretation of ECGs in clinics that lack specialized functional diagnostic staff.
As previously reported, period of central asiaKazakh surgeons recently performed the region’s first joint replacement surgery using the MAKO robotic system in Tashkent, another example of the country’s growing investment in medical innovation.
