Whether you like it or not, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is working its way toward becoming an integral part of our lives. This fast-moving technology enables machines to perform tasks that were once exclusive to humans, which may sound like a science-fiction scenario to some. It’s no surprise that the vision of hostile technology taking advantage of our data brings concern to many but, while it’s always important to maintain a conscious approach towards the unknown, perhaps it’s worth learning more about the benefits of using AI to make our daily lives easier.
One of the areas that are prone to benefit greatly from the use of Machine Learning (ML) is definitely medicine and dentistry. AI can play a crucial role in improving diagnosis accuracy, decision-making, and tailoring personalized therapeutic strategies. AI-driven software is also being used for improving dental care and diagnosis – in some cases, it has even been proved to outperform dentists. Imagine being able to recognize the state of your oral health by doing nothing more than your daily toothbrushing.
Sounds good? AI can help you achieve that.
We have all stumbled upon terms like AI, machine learning, or artificial neural networks. But what exactly are they and does everyone suddenly seem to be obsessed with them? ML is a branch of computer science wherein a system is able to learn to perform intelligent tasks without hand-crafted rules and manual fine-tuning by experts in the subject. Instead, the system identifies patterns in data without direct human assistance. This is obtained thanks to the process called training, during which an ML algorithm “learns” through exposure to random examples and gradual adjustments of tunable parameters that lead it towards a correct answer. Thanks to this process, the model can apply its knowledge to completely new data. Such a system can be an extra help that dentist needs to identify and treat issues.
A very good example of how AI revolutionizes dentistry is the use of image processing. Computer vision systems that use a special type of AI architecture, called Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), are widely applied in image classification-related tasks. Detection and identification of anatomical structures in radiographs with the help of CNNs have been demonstrated to achieve an accuracy level of 95.8 – 99.45%, which is comparable to clinical experts (99.98%). AI recognizes teeth, lesions in them that might indicate tooth decay, as well as early signs of disease, such as periodontitis and even oral cancer. Such tools have a great potential for improving and speeding up the diagnosis of most prevalent dental issues, like dental caries. That is when they are used by professionals. After all, the aim of developing AI models for various clinical applications is not to get rid of dentists, but to help them do their job more efficiently.
But CNNs have been proven to have a much wider range of applications than just image classification. Their ability to learn features from raw data makes them especially well-suited candidate for solving Human Activity Recognition (HAR) tasks, which involve the classification of raw sensor data (obtained by your smartphone or activity band) into well-defined movements, without the need for expert-level knowledge. A traditional approach to the problem involves a complicated set of actions that lead to handcrafting features from accelerometer and gyroscope data, which require deep expertise in the field and could be error-prone. CNNs have been proved to provide state-of-the-art results in the field. Their application has helped with tasks that make our daily lives easier, including fall detection and smartphone-based activity tracking.
But what does it have to do with toothbrushing? A lot more than you may think.
About Aceso ACESO is a patient-centric solution for smart and sustainable healthcare, employing a co-creative approach to realize integrated health and oral-care platform in which intelligent devices use data analytics for adaptable health and wellbeing. ACESO will monitor parameters related to physical health (blood pressure, glucose, heart rate, oxygen saturation, etc.), activity, sleep, and oral hygiene in an integrative manner which will provide primary users with personalized and adaptive feedback extracted by an underlying artificial intelligence engine. A patient-centric approach that actively involves users in maintaining their health will bring clear benefits for the elderly and caregivers. Aceso is funded by AAL. More about Aceso... About AAL AAL- Ageing Well in the Digital World - is a funding program that aims to create a better quality of life for older people and to strengthen industrial opportunities in the field of healthy aging technology and innovation. More about AAL. Contact: www.aal-aceso.eu/contact
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