"India does not live in its towns but in its villages," wrote Gandhi in Young India 89 years ago. With 66% of the country's population living in villages today, India's soul still lives in its rural regions. Unfortunately, uneven distribution of wealth and lack of infrastructure have prevented "India's soul" from accessing proper healthcare. 

As the WHO reported, for every 1000 rural Indians, there are only 0.45 available doctors, a statistic that's only been aggravated by a handful of underdeveloped countries in Africa. When it comes to medical facilities such as diagnostic centers, these numbers get much worse.

Fortunately, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence technologies such as natural language processing, computer vision, machine learning, chatbots, and voice recognition may finally be able to bring a sustainable solution to the rural Indian's struggle for quality healthcare. These technologies can manifest in three key areas when it comes to transforming rural healthcare -- medical-diagnosis, data management, and analytics, and in creating assistive chatbots.

Medical Diagnosis

We can all agree that the key to any successful medical intervention is an early diagnosis. In India, a significant part of the rural population is dependent on nearby cities and towns for proper medical diagnosis and treatment. The cost of travel, accommodation, and the unwillingness to be away from their work and family, often force rural Indians to ignore symptoms and not undergo any diagnosis. This can often lead to aggravation of their conditions or even cause a grave statewide epidemic. 

In recent years, we have seen a rise in medical diagnostic tools developed by startups, NGOs, and tech companies using computer vision and machine learning. These tools are more affordable, portable, have low maintenance, and don't require advanced training to operate compared to the traditional diagnostic devices. 

An example of this type of solution is SigTuple's diagnostic tool which can analyze blood slides and generate a pathology report without assistance from a pathologist. Another notable one is Niramai Health Analytix which uses thermal analytics for early-stage breast cancer detection.

Furthermore, the central and state governments are now teaming up with tech giants such as Microsoft, Philips, and IBM to make affordable healthcare tools. Telangana Government's use of Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare for the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram program to reduce avoidable blindness in children is one such example. 

Data management and analytics 

Gathering and managing medical data, as well as maintaining Electronic Health Records (EHR) has been one of the biggest challenges for health workers across India. The inadequate information retrieval systems, difficulty in identifying relevant evidence from collected data, and lack of basic health information literacy, all add to this problem.

Use of machine learning makes it easier to make sense of otherwise overwhelming volumes of health data. Machine learning can be applied to datasets to develop and deploy preventative health programs. These programs can predict the likelihood of developing a disease, which can then be addressed through timely interventions. 

Chatbots and voice assistants

Another major challenge in rural India is dealing with mental health conditions and sexually transmitted diseases because of the stigma attached to them often discouraging patients from seeking medical help. 

One way this issue can be addressed is by using chatbots and voice assistants. They can offer to counsel while maintaining privacy. Importantly, these bots are designed in a way that they can be accessed from the comfort of one's smartphone. A person suffering from such conditions can chat anonymously with these AI-enabled systems. These chatbots will then provide empathetic support and suggest a practitioner for consulting. Wyasa, which provides mental health support through chatbots, is one such example.

With its varying range of applications, artificial intelligence can be a powerful tool in the healthcare sector. By creating an adequate legal framework to deal with issues of privacy, data integrity, and liability, India can transform its rural healthcare.

Source: INDIAai