How Veterinarians Use Artificial Intelligence (AI)
You can’t go anywhere these days without hearing about artificial intelligence (AI). While, currently, it seems that AI tools are relegated to certain industries, the truth is that AI is being used in all sorts of ways. In fact, you’re probably using AI for something you never even thought about — like as a spell checker as you pound out a typo-ridden email.
And yes, veterinarians use AI tools, too. Not all veterinarians, of course, but AI tools are finding a place in veterinary practices, and it’s likely that they will be further adopted in the future.
AI in veterinary practices
There are numerous ways that AI is being utilized by veterinarians. While there are some business-related use cases—some practices may use chatbots or similar tools for customer service, or database and spreadsheet AI tools to help crunch and analyze data—researchers are also finding ways to put AI to use to diagnose animals’ health problems, and hopefully, improve outcomes.
Here are some examples.
Here at Southpaw Vet we use the Imagyst diagnostic microscope to read ear slides and skin slides for us! Imagyst uses millions of diagnostic images to compare to the slide being analyzed to diagnose ear infections and skin infections.
Researchers at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine are using AI tools to analyze ultrasound images to predict whether certain animals will contract specific diseases or health problems. Veterinarians are also using AI on farms, looking at ways to improve animal products (such as milk) to improve the quality and quality of life for the animals involved.
Others are using AI to analyze drug resistance, dig into health data from wild animal populations to try and pinpoint systemic mechanisms that are making animals sick, and even look further into how shared environments between animals and humans may be improved to create healthier ecosystems. It’s all complicated, but in short, AI tools are helping parse through a lot of information and data (and quickly!) to discover new or novel solutions to problems that we haven’t considered before.
There are other things in the works, too. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA) published a report last year that discusses how AI can be used to automatically rotate or position digital radiographs and create templates to make it easier for veterinarians to read them—and thus, diagnose problems more efficiently.
Suffice it to say, there’s a lot going on.
Potential AI Issues
The AMVA’s brief also discusses some of the challenges related to AI tools for veterinarians. For one, medical device developers need to work with and get approval from the FDA in order to market and sell them. That can take time and money.
These devices or services may utilize AI tools or protocols, and may be untested. There can be ethical issues in the mix, too. Some pet owners may not like the fact that a veterinarian is using AI when working with their animal—so, does a veterinarian need to obtain permission, or disclose that fact if AI is in the mix in an exam room?
That’s a question that may need to be considered. The gist of it, though, is that a lot of AI tools related to medical and healthcare for both pets and humans is new and relatively untested. That doesn’t mean it’s bad or ineffective, but it just may take some getting used to for some.
With all of this in mind, AI will find its place in the veterinary field. It already has, in many respects. That’s likely a good thing, especially as these tools help improve outcomes as they become refined and more ingrained in veterinary practices.
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