Health

Digital twins in the health sector: mirage or reality?

Digital twins, which are already well established in industry, are becoming increasingly present in the health sector. There is a wide range of potential applications for both diagnosis and treatment, but the technology is mostly still in the research phase.   The health sector is currently undergoing digital transition with a view to developing “4P” treatment: personalized, predictive, preventive and …

Read More »

Ethical algorithms in health: a technological and societal challenge

Since the enthusiasm for AI in healthcare brought on by IBM’s Watson, many questions on bias and discrimination in algorithms have emerged. Photo: Wikimedia.

The possibilities offered by algorithms and artificial intelligence in the healthcare field raise many questions. What risks do they pose? How can we ensure that they have a positive impact on the patient as an individual? What safeguards can be put in place to ensure that the values of our healthcare system are respected?   A few years ago, Watson, …

Read More »

Technology that decrypts the way our brain works

Electroencephalogram: a brain imaging technique that is efficient but limited in terms of spatial resolution.

Different techniques are used to study of the functioning of our brain, including electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional MRI and spectroscopy. The signals are processed and interpreted to analyze the cognitive processes in question. EEG and MRI are the two most commonly used techniques in cognitive science. Their performances offer hope and but also concern. What is the current state of affairs …

Read More »

Glioblastoma: electric treatment?

Glioblastoma is a type of brain tumor. It remains difficult to treat. Image: Christaras A / Wikimedia.

At Mines Saint-Étienne, the ATPulseGliome project is looking into a new form of cancer treatment. This therapeutic approach is aimed at fighting glioblastoma, an especially aggressive form of brain cancer, using electrical stimulation. It could eventually increase the life expectancy of glioblastoma patients in comparison with chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.    Glioblastoma is a rare form of brain cancer. Of …

Read More »

Improving organization in hospitals through digital simulation

Hospitals

How can we improve emergency room wait times, the way scheduled hospitalizations are managed and cope with unexpected surges of patients? Vincent Augusto, a researcher in healthcare systems engineering at Mines Saint-Étienne is working to find solutions to these problems. He is developing programs based on digital simulation, aimed at optimizing influxes of patients and waiting times at the hospital, …

Read More »

Hospitals facing a different kind of infection: computer viruses

computer viruses

Hervé Debar, Télécom SudParis – Institut Mines-Télécom WannaCry was the first case of a cyberattack that had a major effect on hospitals. The increasing digitization of hospitals (like all areas of society) offers significant opportunities for reducing the cost of health care while making the care provided more effective. However, with digitization comes cybersecurity challenges and these threats must be …

Read More »

When AI helps predict a patient’s care pathway

care pathway

Researchers at Mines Saint Etienne are using process mining tools to attempt to describe typical care pathways for patients with a given disease. These models can be used to help doctors predict the next steps for treatment or how a disease will progress.   Will doctors soon be able to anticipate patient complications arising from a disease? Will they be …

Read More »

Fine particles: how can their impact on health be better assessed?

fine particles

In order to assess the danger posed by fine particles in ambient air, it is crucial to do more than simply take regulatory measurements of their mass in the air. The diversity of their chemical composition means that different toxicological impacts are possible for an equal mass. Chemists at IMT Lille Douai are working on understanding the physicochemical properties of …

Read More »

AI in healthcare for the benefit of individuals and society?

healthcare

Article written by Christian Roux (Director of Research and Innovation at IMT), Patrick Duvaut (Director of Innovation at IMT), and Eric Vibert (professor at Université Paris-Sud/Université Paris Saclay, and surgeon at Hôpital Paul Brousse (AP-HP) in Villejuif). How can artificial intelligence be built in such a way that it is humanistic, explainable and ethical? This question is central to discussions …

Read More »

AI to assist the elderly

Empathic

Caring and expressive artificial intelligence? This concept that seems to come straight from a man-machine romance like the movie “Her”, is in fact at the heart of a Horizon 2020 project called EMPATHIC. The project aims to develop software for a virtual and customizable coach for assisting the elderly. To learn more, we interviewed the project’s Scientific Director for Télécom …

Read More »