From deep learning algorithms that can read CT scans faster than humans to natural language processing (NLP) that can comb through unstructured data in electronic health records (EHRs), the applications for AI in healthcare seem endless.[i] Endless application implies endless possibilities for Artificial Intelligence (AI) in medicine and healthcare. Sounds terrific! So, what’s the downside? keep reading

For this blog, I’m departing from my usual prostate cancer themes. This blog branches out more broadly on how infections may influence the development of cancer in general. We already know that cervical cancer is connected to the human papillomavirus, people with hepatitis B or C are more prone to liver cancer, and the human keep reading

How safe is your neighborhood? We assume that the residents in our area are reasonably normal. We don’t worry that a dangerous criminal lurks a few doors down. But on the infinitesimally small chance that a neighbor went berserk, what would you do? Probably you’d call 911 for police help. After all, we were taught keep reading

AI applications are entering clinics at a rapid rate, and physicians have met the technology with equal parts excitement about its potential to reduce their workload and fear about losing their jobs to machines.[i]   Who’s afraid of the big bad computer? Apparently, some radiologists—and even medical students contemplating entering that field—are fearful of being keep reading

Did you know that cholesterol was first isolated from gallstones in 1784, and that 13 Nobel Prizes have gone to scientists researching cholesterol?[i] That history culminates in a banner year for statin drugs: in 1987, the FDA approved the first commercial statin for the management of cholesterol. A multipurpose drug Statins have saved millions of keep reading

Gone are the days of “exploratory surgery.” Today’s magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a widely used scanning method that provides accurate 3D pictures of physical anatomy and bodily processes. It is noninvasive, and there is no exposure to radiation as with CT/PET scans. MRI detects changes in atoms under high frequency radio waves within a keep reading

Baseball fans are familiar with the Baltimore Orioles, a team named for the state bird of Maryland. Since 1954, the bird has brought them luck: 7 pennants and 3 World Series. Now there’s a new ORIOLE that’s having a winning season in the fight against metastatic prostate cancer. ORIOLE stands for a study called the keep reading

“New Shimmer is a floor wax.” “No, it’s a dessert topping.” “It’s a floor wax!” “It’s a dessert topping!” These lines open a Saturday Night Live comedy argument between a housewife (Gilda Radner) about to damp mop the kitchen floor, and her husband (Dan Aykroyd) wanting whipped topping on his pudding. As the spat escalates, keep reading

There’s no way around the fact that humans will be technically outsmarted by machines in the near future, so the best thing we can bring to health care is those traits (like empathy and concern) that are uniquely human. – Idea embraced by Eric Topol, M.D. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a rapidly advancing information technology, keep reading

The arrival of the Novel Coronavirus quickly became a pandemic. Shortages of medical resources like personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare personnel and ventilators for hospitalized patients took an unprecedented toll on lives. Now, as I write this in early June, the U.S. is gradually reopening after months of lockdown. I look back from this keep reading