Dr Annamalai began his career as a Consultant Physician after graduating from Madras Medical College with an MD [General Medicine].

As a Consultant Nephrologist at Christian Medical College [CMC] Vellore, Dr Annamalai performed several retrospective data analysis.

INDIAai interviewed Annamalai to get his views on AI in healthcare.

Tell us about your journey as a clinician, researcher and a practising nephrologist.

My journey as a clinician started in 2009 when I began my internship at Madras Medical College. I was exposed to a variety of health problems spanning every discipline of the medical domain during this time. Then, I became a Consultant Physician in 2014, after accomplishing MD [General Medicine] at Madras Medical College with first-hand experience managing many medical issues. Later, I was groomed as an accomplished Nephrologist in 2019 after rigorous training at Christian Medical College [CMC], Vellore. As a researcher, I had done a few retrospective data analyses during my MD and DM training days. During my short tenure at CMC Vellore as a Consultant Nephrologist, I was part of a multicenter randomized controlled drug trial for a kidney problem. As a practising Nephrologist, I had a fruitful 1-year term at CMC Vellore as an Assistant Professor of Nephrology. I had ample exposure to managing complex kidney ailments and training budding Nephrologists. Since November 2020, I am committed to developing the Department of Nephrology at Naruvi Hospitals, Vellore.

You stated in your interview that Early detection of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is vital to treatment. Do you employ any technological tools in this process? To streamline the procedure and reduce complexity.

Early detection of CKD involves screening for the signs of kidney disease in high-risk groups [like people with diabetes mellitus or systemic hypertension, those with a family history of kidney ailments, etc.]. It involves a simple blood test for serum creatinine, a urinalysis to detect protein or blood leak, and a BP measurement to see hitherto undetected high BP.

What, according to you, is the time-consuming process of CKD detection? Especially in identifying the early signs of kidney disease to allow timely diagnosis, It will be helpful for AI researchers in India to spot the research gap so that they can start building a solution for it.

The time-consuming process of CKD detection is creating awareness about kidney health among the masses and achieving the public's recognition and realization of the threat of neglected progressive CKD. 

As a doctor and researcher for over a decade, what technical advancements have you observed?

Significant developments have taken place in both diagnostic and therapeutic domains, with innovative approaches in nephropathology, immunology, disease biomarkers and novel treatment approaches targeting the molecules involved in the disease pathogenesis, to name a few.

Please provide information on the technology applications and tools that you utilize regularly.

The estimated glomerular filtration rate is arrived at with the help of several estimation equations with various software-enabled computations based on clinical and laboratory variables. Information garnered from kidney biopsy has increased severalfold with the help of newer advances in nephropathology.

What is your view on using AI models to assist in medical diagnosis?

AI models have already been used to a limited extent in certain parts of the world to assist the nephropathologist and the treating clinician in diagnosing and managing kidney diseases. The future holds more for the application of AI models in healthcare.

Several prestigious universities, such as Oxford and Stanford, have initiated the offering of courses focused on artificial intelligence in the field of healthcare. What is your perspective on this transformation?

Nephrology branched out as a medical subspecialty by embracing innovations. Hence, as a practising nephrologist, I welcome this transformation to ensure better future patient care, safety, and management outcomes.

What books or magazines would you recommend to students and researchers in healthcare? 

They should keep a close tab on high-impact indexed journals in their area of interest, in line with their teachers and guides.