Artificial intelligence in health provides diagnostic support which helps detect diseases and injuries and predict the effectiveness of a given treatment and the evolution of the patient, thus paving the way for more preventive and personalised medicine. That’s the message from the ‘White Paper on AI applied to Health’ which has just been unveiled in Barcelona by the Centre of Innovation for Data tech and Artificial Intelligence (CIDAI) to help fast-track uptake of this technology in the Catalan healthcare sector.
The report sets out a series of proposals including enabling access to health data while maintaining privacy and security, setting up testing environments and promoting public-private innovation. Over the longer term it recommends measures to tackle resistance to change in the clinical setting, training and retaining expert talent and raising public awareness.
The white paper additionally points to the opportunities AI affords in healthcare. They include planning and guiding surgery, monitoring and support systems, and hospital logistics and management in a scenario shaped by the shift towards preventive, predictive, personalised and participatory medicine.
“We are moving towards a healthcare system where the absence of artificial intelligence tools will be viewed as a system shortcoming,” says Dani Marco, Director General of Innovation and Digital Economy in the Catalan Government. “This white paper is a good illustration of how to bring artificial intelligence to various areas of society, in this case the healthcare sector, as part of the Catalonia.AI strategy brought in by the Government of Catalonia two years ago.”
“AI techniques in the health system should be used to enhance service to the public who will get more tools to support prevention, prediction, diagnosis and treatment, thereby bolstering the 4Ps medicine model: Preventive, Predictive, Participatory and Personalised (5th P: Population),” adds Gemma Craywinckel, CatSalut’s director general. “Likewise, we will be ensuring fairness across the region, strategic alignment of facilities, addressing global health policies and enhancing efficiency while baking in values such as transparency, safety and ethics.”
“Drawing up industry white papers is one of CIDAI’s core roles,” notes Joan Mas, director of CIDAI and the Eurecat technology centre’s Digital Division. “That’s because it enables us to assess how far AI and data technologies have penetrated in key sectors for Catalonia and make recommendations to unleash technological innovation working for society.”
The paper “outlines the opportunities afforded by artificial intelligence in a changing healthcare industry,” points out CIDAI manager Marco Orellana. “Covid-19 has had a significant impact here as it has underscored the need to plan ahead for specific situations and deliver rapid responses to improve management and the experience of practitioners and the public alike.”
The ‘White Paper on AI applied to Health’ has been drafted by a team made up of innovation consultants from the Eurecat technology centre and the CIDAI’s Technical Office. It has also drawn on input from experts at the TIC Salut Social Foundation, EIT Health, the BSC, the CVC and IDEAI-UPC, and advice from specialists at Microsoft, NTT DATA, the SDG Group, the Catalan Government, Barcelona City Council and the i2CAT Foundation.
Experts from Vall d’Hebron, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari-I3PT, Hospital del Mar, Hospital Trueta, CatSalut, Methinks and ICS-Central Catalonia have additionally contributed.
The health sector in Catalonia
BIOCAT, the organisation coordinating and promoting the life sciences and health sector in Catalonia, reports that the sector accounts for 7.3 percent of GDP, split into 3.5 percent in life sciences and 3.8 percent in health, and generates €19.77 billion in turnover for its businesses.
There are over 1,200 companies in the Catalan ecosystem, including 180 in digital health, 156 suppliers and engineering firms, and 198 services and consultancy businesses. They are accompanied by 89 research institutions such as research centres, university hospitals, technology and science parks, universities, large infrastructures and technology centres.
The ‘Artificial Intelligence in Catalonia’ report says that there are 179 companies in Catalonia operating in AI technologies, 63 percent of which are SMEs and start-ups. Their turnover comes to €1.34 billion a year and they employ 8,483 people.
CIDAI is coordinated by Eurecat and is made up of the Catalan Government’s Ministry of the Vice-Presidency and Digital Policies and Territory, Barcelona City Council, the BSC, the CVC, i2CAT, IDEAI-UPC and NTT DATA, Microsoft, the SDG Group and SAP.
