The rise of artificial intelligence in healthcare applications

Big data and machine learning are having an impact on most aspects of modern life, from entertainment, commerce, and healthcare. Netflix knows which films and series people prefer to watch, Amazon knows which items people like to buy when and where, and Google knows which symptoms and conditions people are searching for. All this data can be used for very detailed personal profiling, which may be of great value for behavioral understanding and targeting but also has potential for predicting healthcare trends. There is great optimism that the application of artificial intelligence (AI) can provide substantial improvements in all areas of healthcare from diagnostics to treatment. It is generally believed that AI tools will facilitate and enhance human work and not replace the work of physicians and other healthcare staff as such. AI is ready to support healthcare personnel with a variety of tasks from administrative workflow to clinical documentation and patient outreach as well as specialized support such as in image analysis, medical device automation, and patient monitoring. In this chapter, some of the major applications of AI in healthcare will be discussed covering both the applications that are directly associated with healthcare and those in the healthcare value chain such as drug development and ambient assisted living.