Computational Intelligence for Digital Health: A brief summary of our research work

In the last few decades, a digitization process has involved various aspects of daily life, and the healthcare sector is one of the fields most heavily affected by this digital transformation. Artificial Intelligence, and in particular Computational Intelligence (CI) techniques, such as Neural Networks and Fuzzy Systems, have proven to be promising methods for extracting meaningful knowledge from medical data and for developing intelligent systems for faster diagnosis, improved monitoring and effective healthcare. CI-based systems can learn models from data that evolve as data changes, taking into account the uncertainty that characterizes health data and processes. Our group working at the Computational Intelligence Laboratory (CILab) of the Department of Computer Science, University of Bari, is currently carrying out scientific research on the application of CI techniques to Digital Health problems

Artificial intelligence approaches to predicting and detecting cognitive decline in older adults: A conceptual review.

Preserving cognition and mental capacity is critical to aging with autonomy. Early detection of pathological cognitive decline facilitates the greatest impact of restorative or preventative treatments. Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare is the use of computational algorithms that mimic human cognitive functions to analyze complex medical data. AI technologies like machine learning (ML) support the integration of biological, psychological, and social factors when approaching diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease. This paper serves to acquaint clinicians and other stakeholders with the use, benefits, and limitations of AI for predicting, diagnosing, and classifying mild and major neurocognitive impairments, by providing a conceptual overview of this topic with emphasis on the features explored and AI techniques employed. We present studies that fell into six categories of features used for these purposes: (1) sociodemographics; (2) clinical and psychometric assessments; (3) neuroimaging and neurophysiology; (4) electronic health records and claims; (5) novel assessments (e.g., sensors for digital data); and (6) genomics/other omics. For each category we provide examples of AI approaches, including supervised and unsupervised ML, deep learning, and natural language processing. AI technology, still nascent in healthcare, has great potential to transform the way we diagnose and treat patients with neurocognitive disorders

Operating Room of the Future (FOR) Digital Healthcare Transformation in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

New technologies are emerging under the umbrella of digital transformation in healthcare such as artificial intelligence (AI) and medical analytics to provide insights beyond the abilities of human experts. Because AI is increasingly used to support doctors in decision-making, pattern recognition, and risk assessment, it will most likely transform healthcare services and the way doctors deliver those services. However, little is known about what triggers such transformation and how the European Union (EU) and Norway launch new initiatives to foster the development of such technologies. We present the case of Operating Room of the Future (FOR), a research infrastructure and an integrated university clinic which investigates most modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and deep learning (DL) to support the analysis of medical images. Practitioners can benefit from strategies related to AI development in multiple health fields to best combine medical expertise with AI-enabled computational rationality.publishedVersio

Digital twin brain: a bridge between biological intelligence and artificial intelligence

In recent years, advances in neuroscience and artificial intelligence have paved the way for unprecedented opportunities for understanding the complexity of the brain and its emulation by computational systems. Cutting-edge advancements in neuroscience research have revealed the intricate relationship between brain structure and function, while the success of artificial neural networks highlights the importance of network architecture. Now is the time to bring them together to better unravel how intelligence emerges from the brain's multiscale repositories. In this review, we propose the Digital Twin Brain (DTB) as a transformative platform that bridges the gap between biological and artificial intelligence. It consists of three core elements: the brain structure that is fundamental to the twinning process, bottom-layer models to generate brain functions, and its wide spectrum of applications. Crucially, brain atlases provide a vital constraint, preserving the brain's network organization within the DTB. Furthermore, we highlight open questions that invite joint efforts from interdisciplinary fields and emphasize the far-reaching implications of the DTB. The DTB can offer unprecedented insights into the emergence of intelligence and neurological disorders, which holds tremendous promise for advancing our understanding of both biological and artificial intelligence, and ultimately propelling the development of artificial general intelligence and facilitating precision mental healthcare