Dr Kang pointed out that one of the major challenges in public health is the availability of skilled individuals capable of making decisions in primary care.
Published Aug 15, 2024 | 12:26 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 15, 2024 | 12:26 PM
Gagandeep Kang speaks at Dakshin Healthcare Summit. (South First)
Public health, which focuses on preventing disease, promoting well-being, and prolonging life through organized efforts and informed choices by communities, organizations, and individuals, is increasingly relying on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to address health issues.
Dr Gagandeep Kang, a microbiologist and virologist at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, speaking at the inaugural Dakshin Healthcare Summit organized by South First and TV9 Network in Hyderabad highlighted the need for AI in public health, especially in rural India, and places like Africa, where the number of trained healthcare providers is much lower than in India. Dr Kang also emphasised the role of AI in vaccine development.
Speaking through video conferencing in the panel discussion on “Transforming Healthcare: New-age Technology, AI & Robotics”, she pointed out that one of the major challenges in public health is the availability of skilled individuals capable of making decisions in primary care.
Focusing on the recent investments made in developing tools for primary care workers, Dr Kang said, “These tools allow them to make informed decisions with access to comprehensive information through clinical decision support systems.”
She added, “These systems, which began in hospitals at higher levels of care, are now being integrated into primary care. For example, in malaria programs, these tools have been game changers in ensuring patients are properly identified and referred.”
Further hoping that this trend would continue, Dr Kang noted that in regions with greater need, such as Africa, there has been rapid development, application, and adoption of these technologies.
Dr Kang also emphasised the importance of India catching up in this area, as these advancements could be a game changer for the future of public health in the country.
Speaking of the use of AI in designing new vaccines, Dr Kang stated, “The first vaccine designed using an AI system was for COVID-19, created by a Korean company called SK Biosciences.”
“AI allows for rapid iteration to identify the most immunogenic and safe antigens. When creating small proteins as antigens, AI makes it feasible to generate numerous potential constructs and predict which are most likely to be effective, reducing time and effort spent on testing various antigens,” she said, adding, “Skycovione, developed by SK Biosciences, was the first vaccine made using this approach.”
These AI-driven methods are now being applied beyond small proteins to develop vaccines for challenging targets such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV.
Concluding Dr Kang said, “The goal is to harness all available knowledge and use AI models to achieve better results than human efforts have been able to accomplish so far.”
(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)
