Artificial Intelligence: The Future is Now

Artificial intelligence is already transforming healthcare — and PBSF is a clear example of how this revolution is also taking root in Brazil. Below, we share an excerpt from an article published by Veja Negócios magazine, which highlights innovative AI initiatives focused on neonatal care, including PBSF's work with mixed reality, remote clinical support, and algorithms applied to assisting at-risk newborns.​

You can access the full article by clicking this link. Check out the excerpt below that directly mentions PBSF's work:​

BRAZILIAN TECHNOLOGY IN THE SPOTLIGHT​

A tool viewed with enthusiasm by specialists is the use of mixed reality or augmented reality headsets to provide doctors with real-time information about patients. These devices are already used for surgeon training in American and European universities, but there are already other applications in Brazil. PBSF (Protecting Brains, Saving Futures, in English) has developed an AI algorithm for the HoloLens 2 – a wearable headset and computer manufactured by Microsoft – for the evaluation of newborns at high risk of permanent brain injury (children experiencing perinatal asphyxia, prematurity, heart malformations, or neurological injuries). ​

In addition to being capable of identifying warning signs and connecting to specialists based in a surveillance and intelligence center located in São Paulo, the device has started being used at Santa Casa de São Paulo, with plans to expand the project to 40 public and private hospitals across Brazil. ​

“Diagnosis time is crucial for the treatment of newborns to be effective, and with the remote assistance provided by the mixed reality device, we can save minutes that may be precious. It is a short window of time to save the child’s brain and change their entire life,” explains Dr. Gabriel Variane, CEO and founder of PBSF.​

AI is even enhancing the most human of qualities in a good professional: empathy. Researchers from the Qualcomm Institute at the University of California, San Diego, analyzed doctors' responses to over 200 questions posted in specialized forums on the social network Reddit and replicated the questions in ChatGPT for a qualitative comparison. The chatbot's messages were considered more complete and accurate in 80% of cases, and 45% of them were positively evaluated in terms of empathy and emotional support, compared to only 5% of those written by clinicians. “No one dedicates their life to medicine without having a genuine interest and concern for patients,” reflects John Ayers, responsible for the study at the Qualcomm Institute, University of California, San Diego. “They deeply care about their suffering and want to provide the best information possible, but not all are good communicators, and the truth is that most are overworked, short on time, and exhausted.” For Ayers, robots will never replace doctors but can represent a powerful tool to help them overcome time constraints and fatigue in dealing with patients.​

This is a consensus in the healthcare field: robots will not replace doctors. The second widely agreed-upon point is that we are only scratching the surface of the discoveries enabled by artificial intelligence. The scientific community is still exploring ways to improve diagnoses and treatments for one disease at a time, based on a single type of test. “The future is multimodal, meaning we will be able to relate various markers, including genetics, environment, behavior, diet, and many others, to understand their effects on health with unprecedented precision,” predicts Gadelha. The appeal by Musk, Wozniak, and Harari to halt AI development, however well-intentioned, was largely ignored. Thankfully. Healthcare is grateful.