AI’s Speedy Kidney Discovery; AI Listens in Clinic; Generative AI Nurses

Welcome to MedAI Roundup, highlighting the latest news and research in healthcare-related artificial intelligence each month.

Researchers have launched an initiative to ensure the safe and ethical use of AI in protein design — to head off threats of its use in the design of biological weapons, as well as burdensome government regulation. (Nature)

While teaching itself human biology using only raw data, an AI model discovered a rare kidney cell that produces a specific hormone when oxygen drops too low. It did this in just 6 weeks, while the discovery took humans roughly 134 years. (New York Times)

Ambient clinical documentation — AI technology that turns conversations with patients into clinical notes and summaries — was the talk of this year’s HIMSS conference, with companies like Microsoft’s Nuance, Abridge, and Suki leading the way. (CNBC)

Indeed, Stanford Health Care is the latest health system to sign up for Nuance’s Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Copilot ambient clinical documentation tool.

Nvidia announced a collaboration with Hippocratic AI to power its generative AI nurses, which can answer patient questions at the low rate of just $9 per hour, compared with $90 for an actual human nurse. (Quartz)

Clinicians and researchers are struggling with how to evaluate how well AI can produce medical summaries, even as hospitals race to adopt such technology. (STAT)

Tech investors are starting to pour money into startups focused on healthcare privacy and security. (STAT News)

AI analysis of Facebook posts enabled researchers to predict depression severity for white people, but not for Black people, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

New rules from the Biden administration will require federal agencies to implement safeguards for using AI, including mandatory human oversight to mitigate the risks of disparities in healthcare access.

Meanwhile, the European Union approved the world’s first major regulatory rules to govern AI technology. (CNBC)

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