Upcoming CME: AI Grand Rounds Journal Club with Dr. Karthik Adapa (WHO South East Asia Region) on April 19, 2025

We are pleased to announce our next Journal Club event on April 19, 2025. World Health Organization South-East Asia Digital Advisor Dr. Karthik Adapa will join us to discuss AI applications in population-based Cancer Screening.

Dr Adapa MBBS, MPP, MPH, PHd is the World Health Organization's Digital Health Lead and Regional Advisor. He is a world leader in the field, and we are thrilled that he will join the AI Grand Rounds event.

Please register below to attend virtual event on Saturday, April 19, 2025, 11 am EDT (830pm IST).

🚨 Pulse of Innovation 🚨

Breaking news in the healthcare AI

Apple’s AI Health Coach: Your Pocket-Sized Wellness Guru?

Apple is dialling up innovation with Project Mulberry, an AI-powered health Coach and Virtual Doctor in your pocket. According to Bloomberg, this upcoming feature is set to supercharge the Apple Health app by offering personalised recommendations based on your real-time data—think of it as your own always-on-call health companion.

So, what can this AI doctor do?

1. Strike a Pose: Real-time workout analysis using your iPhone camera to improve your form and avoid injury.

2. Snap&Snack: This food tracking integration offers nutritional insights to keep your diet on point. It is not clear if the continuous glucose monitoring sensors will be used in the future.

3. Heart Smart: Continuous heart rate monitoring, alerts for unusual changes, and blood pressure monitoring sensors using Apple Watch.

4. Condition Control: Tailored advice to manage chronic conditions

5. Doctor-on-Demand: Bite-sized video clips from medical professionals.

To back its bold ambitions, Apple has joined forces with experts in cardiology, sleep science, mental health, nutrition, and physical therapy. These specialists are helping train the AI models and curate medically sound educational content, ensuring both brains and hearts go into this update.

Are we ready for an AI doctor - Hype or Health Hero?

While Apple’s AI-powered health coach sounds like a game-changer in preventive and personalised healthcare, it raises an important question: Will this be a genuinely helpful wellness tool or just another premium subscription wrapped in buzzwords and buried in fine print? With sensitive health data involved, concerns around privacy and data monetisation are impossible to ignore—what about privacy?

The AI-boosted health app is expected to roll out with iOS 19.4 in 2026.

The real test is whether it is another sleek shiny tool or would it be clinically relevant and transparent?

🧑🏼‍🔬 Bench to Bedside👨🏽‍🔬

Developments in healthcare AI research and innovations

AI to Assist in the Fetal Anomaly Ultrasound Scan: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Fetal anomaly ultrasounds are critical but demanding, especially when it comes to consistently catching serious malformations like congenital heart disease (CHD).

What Was the Problem? 

• Even skilled sonographers can miss subtle anomalies. AI promises to standardize image acquisition and reduce variability—but how well does it perform in clinical workflows?

The Study at a Glance: 

A single-center, open-label RCT was conducted at a teaching hospital.

• Participants:

  • 78 pregnant individuals (26 fetuses with CHD, 52 healthy)

  • 58 sonographers

• Intervention:

  • Sonographers were randomized to use AI assistance or go unaided.

  • The AI tool identified 13 standard image planes and calculated four fetal biometric measures.

  • Important to note: The AI didn’t diagnose CHD; it just helped with image capture and measurement.

• Outcomes:

  • Primary: Diagnostic accuracy for detecting major fetal malformations

  • Secondary: Scan duration and sonographer cognitive load (NASA-TLX, Paas scale)

Key Results:

• Improved diagnostic performance:

  • Sensitivity: 88.9% with AI vs. 81.5% without

  • Specificity: 98.0% with AI vs. 92.2% without

• Efficiency boost: Median scan time dropped from 19.7 to 11.4 minutes with AI

• Lower cognitive load: NASA-TLX score was significantly lower (35.2 vs. 46.5)

• Better biometric consistency: AI-driven measurements were more reproducible than manual ones

Limitations:

• Sonographers volunteered, which could mean higher baseline skill.

• High CHD prevalence skews generalizability

• A single ultrasound machine was used, limiting its real world application.

Conclusion:

• AI-assisted fetal ultrasound shows potential—cutting scan times, reducing cognitive load, and enhancing diagnostic performance. This study adds weight to the idea that AI can augment, not replace, human expertise in clinical imaging.

• AI might not diagnose CHD yet, but it’s already showing value in standardizing scans and easing sonographers’ workload. The next step? More extensive, real-world trials to validate these findings and build pathways for clinical integration.

  

🧑🏽‍⚕️ AI in Clinic 🏥

Developments in healthcare AI research and innovations

AI in Healthcare: Key Insights from the AMA 2025 Report

The American Medical Association (AMA) has released its latest findings on physician sentiments from ~ 1200 physicians across specialties regarding augmented intelligence (AI) in healthcare, capturing shifts in attitudes, adoption, and priorities from 2023 to 2024.

Here’s a snapshot of the key trends shaping the future of AI in medicine.

Growing Enthusiasm for AI

Physician sentiment toward AI is increasingly positive. In 2024, 68% of physicians recognized AI as an advantage in patient care, up from 63% in 2023. Notably, those feeling "more excited than concerned" about AI rose to 36%, reflecting growing confidence in its potential to enhance healthcare delivery.

Rapid Adoption Across Use Cases

The adoption of AI tools nearly doubled within a year, with 66% of physicians using at least one AI application in 2024 compared to just 38% in 2023. Key areas of implementation include:

• Documentation (e.g., billing codes, visit notes)

• Discharge instructions and care plans

• Summarizing medical research and standards of care

This surge underscores the swift pace of adoption for healthcare technology.

Top Opportunities: Reducing Administrative Burden

Physicians overwhelmingly identify automation of administrative tasks as the most significant opportunity for AI. Over half (57%) view this as a priority, particularly for alleviating documentation workloads. This focus aligns with ongoing concerns about physician burnout and workforce shortages.

Barriers and Enablers for Adoption

Despite enthusiasm, challenges persist. Physicians emphasize the need for:

• Seamless integration with existing workflows and electronic health records (EHRs)

• Data privacy assurances

• Robust training and education on AI tools

• A feedback loop to address issues as they arise

Regulatory oversight also emerged as critical, with nearly half (47%) ranking it as the top action needed to build trust in AI-enabled tools.

Familiarity and Relevance of Use Cases

Physicians are becoming more familiar with diverse AI applications. The most relevant use cases include:

• Documentation automation (80% relevance)

• Discharge instructions and care plans (72%)

• Assistive diagnosis and predictive analytics for treatment outcomes

These tools are pivotal for improving efficiency, clinical outcomes, and patient care coordination.

Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Medicine

The AMA report highlights a clear trajectory toward broader adoption of AI in healthcare. Physicians are using these tools and planning near-term expansions into translation services, patient-facing chatbots, and predictive analytics. However, success hinges on addressing trust gaps and ensuring implementation aligns with clinical needs.

As augmented intelligence continues to evolve, it promises to be a powerful ally for physicians, streamlining workflows, enhancing decision-making, and improving patient care.