The project “The Virtual Doc” is about an AI-supported medical decision support system to relieve the burden on the healthcare system. The aim is to develop an intelligent examination station that uses sensors to measure non-invasive health parameters (e.g. BMI, heart rate, pulse) and, in combination with AI-supported analysis, can detect diseases such as type 2 diabetes at an early stage.

The project addresses the challenges posed by skills shortages and overburdened medical staff, particularly in emergency departments and underserved rural areas. The virtual doctor is intended to relieve doctors' workload and optimize the distribution of resources in the healthcare system through automatic collection and analysis of medical data.

Planned developments include the integration of new sensors, expansion of AI analysis modules, and validation in a real clinical environment. An additional focus is on the acceptance of the technology among the population, which will be examined through a survey and tests at a partner clinic.

The project is interdisciplinary and brings together experts from mathematics, computer science and medicine. The long-term vision includes the further development and implementation of the system in hospitals and rural regions to sustainably improve health care.
 

Contact: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dominik Heider

Publication DOI: 10.1016/j.artmed.2019.101706