The use of AI in veterinary medicine can lead to better outcomes for animal patients, saving time and money for both veterinarians and pet owners.
- What is AI In Veterinary Medicine?
- How Is AI Used In Veterinary Medicine?
- Benefits of AI in Veterinary Medicine
- Challenges and Considerations
What is AI In Veterinary Medicine?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the process of creating thinking machines that can reason, analyze data, and solve problems just like humans. AI takes several different forms, including:
Machine Learning
One of the critical steps for creating artificial intelligence is emulating how humans learn and process information. AI accomplishes this through machine learning, where the program “learns” by recognizing patterns in a data set.
AI can then use this knowledge to make predictions about new data. This learning is also critical to other forms of AI in veterinary medicine, including the following categories.
Machine Vision
This category uses AI to help computers like medical tablets recognize visual elements within photographs and videos. Equipped with machine vision, an AI can identify issues such as faulty products on an assembly line or cancerous lesions in a gastrointestinal tract.
Natural Language Processing
Computers can struggle with normal human conversation, which has more variables and subtleties than they can often comprehend. Natural language processing involves using AI programs that can discern insights from a typical conversation and convert those insights into data that computers can categorize and use.
How is AI Used in Veterinary Medicine?
AI is being implemented in veterinary medicine in many of the same ways it’s being used in human healthcare; the only difference is the patient it’s being used to help. While there are obvious physical differences between humans and animals, the basic principles remain the same.
Documentation
Like human healthcare providers, veterinarians use SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan) notes to document and communicate information during a patient’s treatment. AI can help standardize these notes or even write them on the vet’s behalf while they focus on the patient.
An AI computer will write these notes the same way, in the same format, every single time, ensuring greater consistency. These AI tools can even write notes based on audio recordings of conversations between vets and pet owners, freeing vets from reams of paperwork.
Diagnosis and Detection
Early disease detection and diagnosis is critical for effectively treating patients, whether human or animal. By comparing a patient’s condition to massive data sets, including imaging and clinical info, AI can help develop a more accurate diagnosis.
We’ve already seen this process be applied to diagnose chronic hypoadrenocortism, and it can also be used to track data for food and waterborne diseases, which makes it extremely useful for preventing epidemics from spreading.
Surgery
AI’s role in surgery is being explored in everything from managing surgical robots to creating 3D virtual renders of the surgical site itself. These innovations help reduce the impact of surgery, enabling more accurate and more effective care. AI can even help determine if surgery is necessary in the first place by examining a patient’s diagnosis, imaging, and lab tests.
Research
One of the most pressing issues that veterinary medicine faces is the growing resistance infectious microbes have against conventional treatment methods. This means diseases will have an easier time spreading across victims and across the species line. AI’s ability to analyze massive datasets makes it easier for researchers to find new susceptibilities and weaknesses, delivering results in just two years rather than the 10-15 that it usually takes.
Benefits of AI In Veterinary Medicine
By implementing AI in their processes, veterinarians can reap numerous benefits, such as:
- More Accurate Treatment: By using AI to examine and diagnose their patients, veterinarians can be far more accurate while treating them. This helps ensure better results for patients with fewer negative side effects. It can also prevent health issues, such as colorectal lesions, from going unidentified and causing trouble in the future.
- Quicker Recovery Times: Animal patients can enjoy quicker recovery by administering treatment more accurately and with fewer side effects. For example, using AI-controlled robots to close sutures on a surgical site can lead to less scarring and a shorter recovery time after the procedure.
- Less Paperwork: Healthcare providers, for both humans and animals, must deal with colossal amounts of paperwork for every patient they treat. By letting administrative AI handle the task of filling out these forms, veterinarians can focus on what they actually want to do: treat their patients.
Challenges and Considerations
While artificial intelligence has numerous benefits for veterinary care, there are challenges to consider.
The first and most pressing is regulation and jurisdiction. Many nations do not currently have clear regulations that govern the use of AI in healthcare, veterinary or otherwise. This makes determining liability if something goes wrong difficult; is it the fault of the veterinarian, the AI tool, or the AI tool’s developer? State and federal-level regulators must step up to answer these questions.
Lack of training is another serious hurdle. Given the pace of operations most veterinary practices are under, taking the time to train and familiarize themselves with these new tools is difficult to find. Developers of AI-based software must ensure their tools are user-friendly and require minimal experience to use effectively.
Last but not least is the perennial issue of cost. Investing in new technology is always expensive upfront, even if it leads to greater savings later down the line. Veterinary practices must budget thoughtfully or consult with original equipment manufacturers to develop products that deliver the maximum value.
Conclusion
By implementing artificial intelligence in their daily operations, veterinarians can enjoy quicker, more effective treatment for their patients and lighter workloads for themselves. From the first diagnosis to the surgery room, there’s virtually no spot where AI can’t make an impact.
If you’d like to learn more about how AI can change your veterinary practice, explore our medical AI box PCs or contact our team for a custom solution.