5 Interesting Applications of Machine Learning in Healthcare

Machine learning is a path breaking technology that will allow medical professionals to improve human life. Being healthy and capable of doing basic tasks is one of the prime priorities for people across the globe.

Human beings tend to go way beyond their limits when the health of a loved one is at risk. Even though the current healthcare systems are helpful, they have time and again proved that they are too prone to errors. With healthcare errors being the third leading cause of deaths in the US in 2016, the need for a makeover in current healthcare system is necessary, and technology stands up to the requirement. Machine learning is a technology that can help humans by learning from them, smart machines operate on the algorithms provided to them. In today’s age where there is a plethora of information where big data in healthcare strives to improve the current healthcare systems, machine learning can surely make a mark in its initiative to improve human health. Here are five exciting applications of ML in healthcare.

1. Imaging and Diagnosis

With machine learning advancing at an astounding speed, it is an active application in diagnosis of human diseases. As machine learning operates on algorithms, healthcare specialists are aiming to leverage this technology in their field by actively developing algorithms and providing information to machines that can help them in imaging and analyze human bodies for abnormalities. By using smart machines machine on a human body, the machines can quickly scan through the body and can click images to detect diseases early on.

2. Data Collection and Follow-Ups

Personalization is what humans like when they go anywhere. As big data has several applications and gathers information from every possible source, leveraging the same to improve human life can be helpful for doctors to provide people with enhanced services. Machine learning can accommodate sufficient information about a user enabling doctors to personalize the treatment options. This personalization of services is possible with the help of machines providing insights about risks of a particular patient being susceptible to a specific disease. With accurate information and actionable insights, machines can also suggest users and doctors about remedies and precautionary measures with depending on a patient’s response to medications.

3. Radiology and Radiotherapy

Machine learning has proved its worth and capabilities to detect cancer in the past and is one of the most viable options for leading healthcare pioneers to identify any abnormalities. With such performance, machine learning is proving to be another strong option for radiology and radiotherapy. Doctors can use this technology to scan through the possibilities of a patient’s response to a specific input of radiations through their body. Machine learning can also help doctors and surgeons in deciding what and how intense a radiation would be required depending on how well the patient responds to specific amounts of emissions.

4. Drug Discovery and Experiments

Scientists strive to find ways of how they can discover newer ways to certain deadly diseases. With rigorous attempts at improving healthcare, they search for different drugs that can behave as advanced medicines and perform experiments that are focused solely on how these medications can help. Machine learning algorithms help scientists by providing them information about how to improve drug performance and behavior of the same on a test subject. The behavioral details that noted from a test subject and a dummy drug can be noted and machine learning algorithms can be used to determine how those medications perform on a human being.

5. Surgeries

Current technological innovations continuously strive to improve the healthcare situation for patients and doctors. When machines focus on improving the performance of operations, they can help doctors by using surgical robots. These surgical robots prove to be of great help to doctors as they provide doctors with high definition imagery and extended flexibility to reach out in areas that are crucial for a doctor. Machine learning has several other applications in numerous fields that try to improve human life. As healthcare pioneers are working to improve their industry consistently, they can now leverage machine learning applications to yield better outcomes.