ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

One of the biggest challenges hospitals face is predicting when frail patients will decline into a life-threatening spiral. Subtle changes in health status get lost in a sea of data that is too vast for humans to effectively monitor. In a paper published Wednesday in the journal Nature, researchers at DeepMind describe a possible solution: A machine learning system capable of crunching hundreds of thousands of data points in electronic health records to alert physicians to an impending crisis long before it happens. (Ross, 7/31)

Google’s artificial-intelligence unit says it has developed an algorithm that can predict who is at high risk of developing a common kidney condition. The algorithm, developed by the DeepMind Health laboratories at Google parent company Alphabet Inc., marks a new application of machine learning in health care. Yet it also shows the shortcomings of many such efforts so far, in this case partly because the algorithm is accurate a little more than half the time. (Olson and Abbott, 7/31)

The condition is more common in older patients and, if not treated quickly, can affect other organs. It accounts for around 100,000 deaths every year in the UK. During a trial at London's Royal Free Hospital, doctors and nurses received warning signals via a mobile phone app in an average of 14 minutes, when patients' blood tests indicated the condition. (Pym, 7/31)