Tracking your brain with machine learning

Everything that is happening today, whether it’s a large-scale effort by the government or is an application of healthcare, finance, learning, IT, language, transactional or even a day-to-day life chore viz. laundry, dishwashing, etc., AI is augmenting all of them. It really fascinates me how technology is not only making a powerful impact but is also transforming every industry. We have all seen how electricity transformed the world, how planes changed the way we travel, how the computers took over manual work in offices, and how we at Shivom are changing the healthcare industry through the application of blockchain.

The brain is the most powerful part of one’s body. It is the CPU which processes all information and emotions, and determines all our actions. Science tells us that humans have, at most, been able to use only 10 per cent of their brain’s capabilities. I wonder, what if we could reach up to, say, 15 or 20 per cent. Maybe, we could then achieve our dreams, visions and even make our fantasies come true!

Artificial intelligence is enabling researchers to take a deep dive into the human brain - the source of all dreams and the ocean of a billion possibilities. Scientists have identified the specific regions in brain, using AI, which may help us make some accurate predictions towards our health. AI has also enabled brain imaging - the most significant research which captures every change in our body, both physical and emotional. A clear brain and an emotionally-equipped brain, both give different imaging. These images are then used to make predictions and to understand the effect of a medicine. Using this imagery, researchers can predict whether a specific drug will work on a disease or not.

Anti-depressants are widely consumed today. It makes me very despondent that even with boundless technical and physical advancement, we are still surrounded by mental illness. Deployment of AI in healthcare is becoming mainstream now, with the availability of precision medicine and personalised treatment. These days, AI is also being used to detect depression and understand the course of favourable treatment to fight it. 

The findings of neuro-imaging demonstrate that brain activity can actually reveal the mental state of a person. It can also help doctors understand how anti-depressants or medicine are affecting the person. Therefore, the technology is helping in not only diagnosing the condition but is also helping in forging a path towards a better treatment through personalised medicine, and improve outcomes.

A sick brain is like a plane flying high in the sky with no fuel left. It’s like jumping off a cliff with a parachute that won't open in time. Neural regions of the brain are considered to be very important when it comes to the understanding of the entire activity of the brain. It is also exciting to know more about the self-fulfilling belief, the placebo effect and how neurons react to these. AI is switching the trend, and including electrical activity which lets researchers know more about the effect and effectiveness of medicines and the way a brain responds to emotional conflicts. Neural regions, essential for distinct cognitive processes, have been identified to have lateral pre-frontal cortices. AI helps understand mood disorders and higher-order cognitive control such as planning, behavioural inhibition, set-shifting and decision-making, through them. DNA tests and brain tests, both are very insightful. AI in neuroscience, neurology and neurosurgery has the power to change the course entirely and completely. This science is the present and the future.

The investment in AI technologies in healthcare is huge, with the CAGR being around 40 per cent per year. According to Forbes, this investment is expected to reach $6.6 billion by 2021. Our neurologists need to be future-ready as AI takes the lead. The big question now is when. Well, the time is now.