Can AI Help Treat Brain Injury Patients Faster?

CANTON, Texas. Artificial intelligence has been used to help doctors identify and diagnose injured and sick patients. Can artificial intelligence help doctors identify and treat brain injury patients? According to NVIDIA, an artificial intelligence program may be able to read patient’s brain scans in ten seconds or less, helping doctors better identify urgent cases faster. The scans allow doctors to more rapidly detect blood clots in patients who are suffering from traumatic brain injury. This can help doctors identify bleeding faster and pinpoint the locations in the brain where bleeding may be occurring.

AI can lead to better overall treatment. For example, if a patient has a blood clot, the standard treatment might be a blood thinner. Yet, if a patient has bleeding in the brain, blood thinner use could be deadly. As pressure builds in the brain following a traumatic brain injury, time is often of the essence to protect the brain and to alleviate pressure. The scans can help doctors prioritize the most serious cases and pinpoint areas in the brain where the bleeding is the worst.

While the accuracy of the scans is high—as accurate as 95%, it is important that doctors use them to supplement standard care, not to replace it. A recent report in QZ asked the question: “when AI gets medical diagnosis wrong, who is to blame?” Is it the hospital using the scan or is it the manufacturer of the program? Understanding liability is important in ensuring that doctors provide top-notch medical care and that they make sure to back up new technology with tried and true procedures.

While the tech industry operates under the “move fast and break things” ethos, when it comes to people’s lives and medical care, much is at stake. Programmers of these new medical programs remind doctors that the technology should supplement the quality care available, not replace it. Most medical AI systems are cautious to remind doctors that in the event of misdiagnosis, the liability falls on the shoulder of the medical professional.

Yet, when brain cells are at stake, a fast-moving scan that can triage patients quickly may be able to identify patients most in need of medical care.

As AI becomes more sophisticated, use of these systems might become the standard of care. At that point, rates of error will need to be monitored more closely. Additionally, there may be cases where a bug in a program can lead to medical errors which may not be the doctor’s fault. In this case, programmers could theoretically be held liable.

Traumatic brain injury is very serious and it can impact all aspects of a patient’s life. If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, it is important to seek medical care and follow proper rehabilitation procedures. The Cooper Law Firm are personal injury lawyers in Canton, Texas who may be able to help you get the recovery you may deserve under the law. Rehabilitation can be expensive but our lawyers may be able to help you get the recovery you may deserve. Visit us at https://www.cooper-law-firm.com/ to learn more.

Cooper Law Firm
501 N Third St,
Longview, TX 75601
Telephone: (903) 297-0037