Artificial Intelligence (AI) has immense potential to make diagnosis more accurate and faster, while making healthcare more accessible to the public, said Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism, Suresh Gopi. He noted that research into analysing retinal images to identify the risk of conditions such as heart disease, stroke and kidney disease could open up new possibilities in healthcare. He was inaugurating the national conference ‘Metares 3.0 Avishkar’, jointly organised by Amrita Hospital and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham at the Fortune Airport Hotel, Nedumbassery.
Emphasising the need to adopt AI with scientific rigour and ethical responsibility, the Minister said that the technology should be developed and applied in ways that address patients’ needs. He also highlighted the importance of translating research findings into practical healthcare solutions that are accessible to the wider public.
The Minister also inaugurated the National Medical Technology Innovation Hub established at Amrita to strengthen collaboration between healthcare research and technology. The hub aims to bring doctors and technology experts together to develop innovative, patient-centred solutions.
The RetinaAI app, designed to help people with retinal diseases understand their conditions and treatment options, was launched by Dr. Mona Duggal, Director of the ICMR Research Division. The app offers vision-check tools, information on retinal diseases, treatment guidance and an AI-powered chat facility in English and Malayalam. While it does not replace a doctor's examination or diagnosis, it can help patients access information about their eye conditions and available treatments.
Dr. Venkat Rangan, Vice-Chancellor of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and Dr. K. V. Beena, Additional Medical Superintendent of Amrita Hospital, were among those present at the inaugural ceremony.
A team led by Dr. Gopal S. Pillai at Amrita is also conducting research into identifying the risk of various diseases through retinal image analysis. The conference brought together doctors, researchers, medical students and technology experts to discuss emerging possibilities in medical imaging and the application of AI in healthcare.
